San Diego., Wildfires in California and Montana increased dramatically yesterday amid dry and windy conditions, approaching residential areas, forcing authorities to order the evacuation of more than 100 homes.
In California’s Klamath National Forest, the McKinney Fire that started Friday covered 160 square kilometers the day before yesterday in a rural area near the Oregon border, fire officials said.
“It continues to grow due to winds and irregular electrical storms in the area,” said Caroline Quintanilla, spokeswoman for the forest administration.
About 650 firefighters were working in the area to contain the McKinney fire, the largest this season in California, which destroyed almost twenty residences and led to large numbers of wild animals fleeing the area, reported Los Angeles Times.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency.
In Montana, a fire tripled in size to more than 11 square miles a short distance from the town of Elmo. About 200 miles to the south, in Idaho, authorities issued orders to evacuate the Salmon-Challis National Forest due to a fire that consumed more than 60 square miles near the town of Salmon and was 17 percent contained.
In Kentucky, first responders went door-to-door in worsening weather as search efforts continue for victims of severe flooding that devastated the southern state. Until yesterday there were 26 deaths, reported the state governor, Andy Beshear and the report is 250 missing.
President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for the flooding, allowing federal aid to supplement state and local rescue and recovery operations.
Melting ice and glaciers caused by Europe’s heat waves have forced the closure of popular alpine hiking trails such as the Materhorn and Mont Blanc trails in France, Italy and Switzerland. The Alps typically host thousands of tourists each summer, but warmer weather has led to dangerous conditions along their normally safe routes.
Pierre Mathey, head of the Swiss mountain guides association, mentioned that “in the Alps there are alerts for about a dozen summits, including the Materhorn and Mont Blanc. We usually see these closures in August, but now they started from the end of June,” he asserted.
The southeastern area of France suffered new fires that left 200 hectares of pine trees burned in the Gard department, where a firefighter was seriously injured, on the eve of a new heat wave. In Marseille, a fire declared in the late afternoon spread over 35 hectares, according to the Departmental Fire and Relief Service.
Portugal grappled with huge forest fires yesterday, as temperatures rose sharply. In the Mafra area, some 40 kilometers north of Lisbon, a fire forced the deployment of 400 firefighters in the region. Other large fires were reported in the north and central zone of Portugal. Temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius are expected in the country.
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