California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a state of emergency as the state tackles multiple wildfires in the midst of a historic heatwave.
According to Governor Newsom, "We are deploying every resource available to keep communities safe as California battles fires across the state during these extreme conditions. California and its federal and local partners are working in lockstep to meet the challenge and remain vigilant in the face of continued dangerous weather conditions," reported The Guardian.
The state of emergency was imposed to ensure that the state receives essential resources in the midst of dozens of wildfires that have aggravated a sweltering heatwave.
At least 27 wildfires are ravaging the state, including some fires prompted by lightning from a rare summer thunderstorm on Sunday, reported NBC News.
Newsom's announcement, which will provide California out-of-state funding to help tackle wildfires and to provide aid to electricity providers in rolling blackout affected areas, is also targetted at evacuation assistance from fires in Napa, Nevada, and Monterey counties.
"Governor Gavin Newsom today declared a statewide emergency to help ensure the availability of vital resources to combat fires burning across the state, which have been exacerbated by the effects of the historic West Coast heatwave & sustained high winds," Governor Newsom's office wrote on Twitter clarifying the announcement.
California's power grid operator thanked customers for conserving energy to alleviate rolling blackouts.
The California Independent System Operator had cautioned earlier in the day that numerous homes and businesses could be affected unless conservation measures were effective. It lifted an emergency declaration shortly before 8 PM.
The flames have more ignited temperatures from an already severe heat wave that transpired over the weekend.
On Saturday, a blazing tornado appeared near the Nevada border where the Loyalton Fire burns in the Tahoe National Forest.
Varying sizes of wildfires are currently ravaging California including in Sonoma, Napa, San Mateo, Nevada, Butte, and Monterey counties. Evacuations operated in the Napa County wine country north of San Francisco Bay.
According to Cal Fire, an estimated 20 fires were being traced as the single SCU (Santa Clara Unit) Lightning Complex Fire and have ravaged 25,000 acres in two days. They are in the counties of Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Alameda, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin.
As fires blaze across California for several weeks, including the huge Lake Fire outside of Los Angeles, they had appeared to be more isolated until recently.
According to former PI wildfire fireman Victor Gabarra, "The heatwave is helping keep many of these fires alive. I had worked during heatwaves before, and any water or coolant you put down only evaporates faster. It keeps temperatures up and fire actually starts to change color a little bit in high heat," reported California Globe.
Preservation measures contributed to alleviate extensive outages on Monday. However, the heatwave blanketing much of California with triple-digit temperatures was expected to go on into Wednesday. This is before a few days of slightly cooler weather sets in, followed by rising temperatures.
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