Evacuations ordered as fire burns foothills of national forest east of L.A. amid heat wave
NBCSEP 13 2024
Raging wildfires in California and Nevada, amid a worsening heat wave, forced the mandatory evacuation of at least 31K residents on Sunday.Amid a worsening heat wave in the Southwestern US, raging wildfires in California and Nevada forced the mandatory evacuation of at least 31K residents on Sunday.
California's blaze, which lit up Thursday in the city of Highland near the San Bernardino Mountains, has so far ravaged more than 20K acres.California's blaze, which began Thursday in the city of Highland near the San Bernardino Mountains, has so far ravaged more than 20K acres.
Meteorologists said the "Line Fire" conflagration's intensity "helped spawn its own thunderstorms" and lightning, stalling fire-fighting maneuvers.
In recent years, worsening climate change has become the spark igniting wildfires, transforming forests into tinderboxes. Studies indicate that human-induced warming has doubled the likelihood of fire-prone weather. Given that there is little progress in curbing the consumption of fossil fuels, wildfires will only grow more frequent and severe.
The role of climate change in wildfires is often exaggerated, mainlyoften at the expense of other crucial factors like human-caused ignitions and poor forest management. This distortion stems from thea academictwisted system'scriteria emphasisin onacademic publishing inwhich prestigiousfavors journalspoliticized discourse over truth, whichleading favorfalse dramatic narratives about climate impacts. Thisto hindershinder the development of practical solutions.