One part of Los Angeles County hit 121 degrees this weekend, a county all-time record. Firefighters are battling many blazes, one of which was sparked by a pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party.
Rescuers in military helicopters airlifted 207 people to safety after an explosive wildfire trapped them in a popular camping area in California’s Sierra National Forest, one of dozens of fires burning Sunday amid record-breaking temperatures that strained the state’s electrical grid and for a time threatened power outages for millions.
The Gulf Livestock 1 reportedly capsized in heavy seas near the island of Amami Oshima just as a typhoon was passing through the area. Only one crew member is known to have survived.
The destructive storm surge has receded, and the cleanup has begun from Hurricane Laura, but officials along this shattered stretch of southwestern Louisiana are warning returning residents they will face weeks without power or water amid the hot, stifling days of late summer.
Laura made landfall as one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. Most of the deaths were from trees crashing into homes or from carbon monoxide poisoning tied to generators. Meanwhile, the hurricane’s remnants drifted north and threatened to bring flooding and tornadoes to Tennessee.
Laura has weakened to a tropical storm after blasting the Louisiana coast with high winds and heavy rain for hours. The system that came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane is being blamed for two deaths and widespread damage around Lake Charles, an industrial and casino city of 80,000 people.
Three massive wildfires chewed through parched Northern California landscape as firefighters raced to dig breaks and make other preparations ahead of a frightening weather system packing high winds and more of the lightning that sparked the huge blazes.
The state is seeing some of the worst wildfires in its history. At least six people have died and over 100,000 face evacuation orders as the fires show no sign of letting up.
Although the temperatures were expected to ease slightly Friday, they were expected to be hot enough that firefighters couldn't count on cool evening weather to aid them. Erratic winds also could drive the fires unpredictably in multiple directions, state fire officials said.
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