California suffering worst-ever wildfire season 

Sacramento, July 12 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of Arizona, two firefighters were killed over the weekend when their plane crashed as they surveyed the Cedar Basin Fire.  It’s one of thousands of wildfires burning on over 300,000 acres in six western states. 

California’s largest wildfire exploded in size to nearly 84,000 acres Sunday, fueled by a withering drought and scorching-hot temperatures.  The Beckwourth Complex Fire has spread into neighboring Nevada and is only about 8% contained. 

So far this year, California has seen 115 square miles consumed by wildfires, more than double what had burned at this point in 2020’s record-setting fire season.

The fires came as record heat returned to part of the western United States over the weekend, fueled by the climate crisis. 

Las Vegas tied an all-time record high of 117 degrees Fahrenheit; Palm Springs, California, hit a record 120 degrees; and the overnight low in Phoenix on Friday was 93 degrees. 

Maricopa County officials have logged over 100 suspected heat-related deaths so far this year. Death Valley hit 130 degrees on Sunday for just the fifth time ever — tied for the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth.  

And in the Arctic Circle, the town of Banak in northern Norway reached 94 degrees Fahrenheit last week — hotter than the highest temperature recorded in Miami, Florida, this year.