California burns as heat wave spreads across western U.S.
LA TimesFirefighters are continuing to battle wildfires across the state as Californians brace for triple-digit temperatures and a dangerous, prolonged heat wave that’s forecast to stretch into next week. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the Thompson fire on Wednesday, noting that it was threatening “structures, homes, critical infrastructure, and health and congregate care facilities.” “We are using every available tool to tackle this fire and will continue to work closely with our local and federal partners to support impacted communities,” Newsom said in a statement. Four sustained minor heat-related injuries Tuesday, and one suffered an unspecified injury on the fireline Wednesday, said Rick Carhart, a public information officer with Cal Fire’s Butte County unit. “We already have our hands full with a big fire in our unit, and we don’t need a bunch of other smaller fires kicking up.” Given the conditions across its coverage area, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. initiated its first public safety power shutoffs of the year, affecting just over 2,000 customers across eight counties — Butte, Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama and Yolo. “We have a control line around the perimeter of the fire,” he said, “and firefighters will be on scene for another four or five hours as they’re doing heavy mop-up operations to address hot spots inside the perimeter of the fire.” Even though the unit had sent three engines to the Thompson fire, it was able to get a handle on the Adams fire with a strong initial attack, in unified command with the Lake County Fire Protection District, he said.