Torrid Heat in Large Swaths of US Sets Records, Fans Wildfires
A firefighting helicopter as the Lake Fire burns inear Los Olivos, California.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images North AmericaThis article is for subscribers only.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A long-running heat wave that has already shattered previous records across the U.S. persisted on Sunday, baking parts of the West with dangerous temperatures that caused the death of a motorcyclist in Death Valley and held the East in its hot and humid grip.
An excessive heat warning — the National Weather Service's highest alert — was in effect for about 36 million people, or about 10% of the population, said NWS meteorologist Bryan Jackson. Dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest tied or broke previous heat records.