By: Janice Li
A record-breaking heat wave sweeping California for more than a week is causing many deadly wildfires and worsening already dire circumstances. The heat wave, which is forecasted to be the longest and warmest September on record, is creating the ideal conditions for flames to spread considerably quickly.
During the heat wave, ten locations in California established all-time high-temperature records; additional locations set marks for the monthly high temperature for September. The previous record of 114 degrees, set in 1925, was surpassed on Tuesday when Sacramento reached 116 degrees.
The Sacramento Valley foothills are experiencing the lowest moisture levels for dead fuel in around 25 to 30 years. The Mosquito fire, which started two days earlier in Foresthill in Placer County, spread to more than 13,700 acres in that region on Thursday. By Thursday afternoon, the fire had jumped the Middle Fork of the American River, produced a sizable pyrocumulus cloud, and was headed toward the El Dorado County hamlet of Voclanioville.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, Pacific& Electric Co. filed a report revealing “electrical activity” at one of its transmission lines close to where the fire started on Tuesday night.
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