(Mariposa) California firefighters are battling multiple wildfires amid a heat wave Friday, with a new blaze breaking out near the famed Yosemite National Park while a blaze further north was brought under control.
Temperatures of up to 47 degrees are expected in the western US state on Friday as a heat wave hitting the region nears its peak.
“Dangerous heat is likely to spread further into the West today [vendredi] and Saturday,” the US National Weather Service (NWS) warned.
“Temperature records are expected to be equaled or broken,” they added.
PHOTO DAVID SWANSON, REUTERS
A plane tries to put out a fire in California.
The heat wave comes during the July 4 holiday weekend, when millions of Americans celebrate the United States Declaration of Independence by setting off fireworks that can create wildfires in dry conditions.
A wildfire broke out in the town of Mariposa, near Yosemite National Park, on Thursday night. By Friday morning the fire had burned several hundred acres and was only 5 percent contained, according to fire officials.
The cause is not yet known.
In the northern part of the state, firefighters managed to control a violent fire that had forced several thousand residents to evacuate the area. “Above average temperatures will continue into next week,” the NWS announced.
Repeated heat waves are a marker of global warming linked to climate change, scientists say.