After one of the driest Julys on record in parts of Minnesota, the drought conditions affecting the region show no signs of letting up to start the month of August.
Much of the state will be blanketed by smoky, unhealthy air well into next week. Health experts say the polluted air can be harmful even to healthy people. The fine particles in wildfire smoke are smaller than a human hair and can penetrate into the sensitive tissue deep in our lungs.
The current drought is helping researchers who are studying the history of flooding in the Red River Valley. They’re collecting samples of old trees buried in the muddy river bottom to help build a regional climate picture going back hundreds of years.
California's largest wildfire merged with a smaller blaze and destroyed homes in remote areas with limited access for firefighters, as numerous other fires gained strength and threatened property across the U.S. West.
The destructive Bootleg Fire just north of the California border grew to more than 476 square miles, an area about the size of Los Angeles, as critically dangerous fire weather loomed in the coming days.
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