Triple-digit heat wave set to sizzle California, stoking fire fears this holiday weekend
LA TimesA man balances on an electric skateboard at Challen Park in Riverside. The coming heat wave is prompting warnings about fire weather, and the weather service is advising that conditions “may support rapid fire growth with any new fire starts.” “Any spark from fireworks could easily start a fire in the tall grass crop that has cured and turned brown in recent weeks,” the agency said. “Dangerous heat is expected in most of the San Joaquin Valley and Coastal Range Saturday, July 1st, resulting in a major risk for heat-related illnesses for much of the population,” the weather service said. “This is the first major heat wave of the year coinciding with a holiday weekend — lots of people outside.” Dangerous heat will impact most of the San Joaquin Valley and Coastal Range this Saturday, with high temperatures of 107-110 degrees possible. Still, the heat wave will be a “significant event,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said during a briefing Monday — largely because temperatures in California have so far been relatively cool.