Wildfires are continuing to ravage the west coast as several states contend with regional droughts and power outages amid another record-breaking heat wave that cooked Death Valley in 130-degree weather.
Firefighters were working in extreme temperatures and struggling to contain wildfires that tore through 300 acres of land, with the largest burning in California and Oregon, as another heat wave baked the region and 18million people were under heat advisories.
One wildfire in Arizona left two firefighters dead after their plane crashed during an overhead survey of the blaze, which spread through rural Mohave County.
The Beech C-90 aircraft was helping perform reconnaissance over the lightning-caused Cedar Basin Fire, near the tiny community of Wikieup northwest of Phoenix, when it went down and killed Air Tactical Group Supervisor Jeff Piechura, 62, a retired Tucson-area fire chief who was working for the Coronado National Forest, and Matthew Miller, 48, a pilot with Falcon Executive Aviation contracted by the US Forest Service.
Officials on Sunday identified the victims as Air Tactical Group Supervisor Jeff Piechura, 62, a retired Tucson-area fire chief who was working for the Coronado National Forest, and Matthew Miller, 48, a pilot with Falcon Executive Aviation contracted by the US Forest Service.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
'Our hearts go out to the families of our brave wildland firefighters,' an Arizona Bureau of Land Management spokesperson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the largest wildfire of the year in California - the Beckwourth Complex - was raging along the Nevada state line and has burned about 134 square miles. The Beckwourth Complex Fire - a combination of two lightning-caused blazes burning 45 miles north of Lake Tahoe - showed no sign of slowing its rush northeast from the Sierra Nevada forest region after doubling in size between Friday and Saturday.
Late Saturday, flames jumped US 395, which was closed near the small town of Doyle in California's Lassen County.
The lanes reopened Sunday, and officials urged motorists to use caution and keep moving along the key north-south route where flames were still active.
Wildfires are continuing to ravage California as the region faces record-high temperatures, a drought and subsequent power outages. While firefighters are making progress in some areas, the pictured fires were still raging as of Monday afternoon
The largest wildfire of the year in California - the Beckwourth Complex - was raging along the Nevada state line and has burned about 134 square miles. Above, a firefighter doused the flames of the Beckwourth Complex Fire to preventing it from spreading to further homes in Doyle, California, on Saturday
The Beckwourth Complex Fire showed no sign of slowing its rush northeast from the Sierra Nevada forest region after doubling in size between Friday and Saturday. Above, it raged through Plumas National Forest in Quincy, California, on Friday
In Oregon, the Bootleg Fire exploded to 224 square miles as it raced through heavy timber in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the Klamath County town of Sprague River. The fire disrupted service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to neighboring California.
Officials in neighboring state California asked all residents to reduce power consumption quickly after the fire knocked out interstate power lines, preventing up to 4,000 megawatts of electricity from flowing into the state.
'The Bootleg Fire will see the potential for extreme growth today,' the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon, said on Twitter, fueled by extreme drought and temperatures near 100 that aren't expected to subside until midweek.
'The fire behavior we are seeing on the Bootleg Fire is among the most extreme you can find and firefighters are seeing conditions they have never seen before,' fire incident commander Al Lawson told USA Today.
A wildfire in southeast Washington grew to almost 60 square miles, while in Idaho, Gov. Brad Little has mobilized the National Guard to help fight fires sparked after lightning storms swept across the drought-stricken region.
On Sunday, firefighters working in temperatures that topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) were able to gain some ground on the Beckwourth Complex, doubling containment to 20%.
Late Saturday, flames jumped U.S. 395, which was closed near the small town of Doyle in California´s Lassen County. The lanes reopened Sunday, and officials urged motorists to use caution and keep moving along the key north-south route where flames were still active.
A map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration captured the impact of the heat wave and wildfires on the atmosphere over the west coast
A utility pole went up in flames as the Beckwourth Complex Fire tore through Doyle, California, on Saturday
Flames consumed a home as the Beckwourth Complex Fire tore through the town of Doyle, California, on Saturday
Pushed by heavy winds amid a heat wave, the fire came out of the hills and destroyed multiple residences in central Doyle
'Do not stop and take pictures,' said the fire´s Operations Section Chief Jake Cagle. 'You are going to impede our operations if you stop and look at what´s going on.'
Cagle said structures had burned in Doyle, but he didn´t have an exact number. Bob Prary, who manages the Buck-Inn Bar in the town of about 600 people, said he saw at least six houses destroyed after Saturday´s flareup. The fire was smoldering Sunday in and around Doyle, but he feared some remote ranch properties were still in danger.
'It seems like the worst is over in town, but back on the mountainside the fire´s still going strong,' Prary said.
A wildfire in southeast Washington had burned almost 60 square miles (155 square kilometers) as it blackened grass and timber while it moved into the Umatilla National Forest.
The blazes come as the West is in the midst of a second extreme heat wave within just a few weeks and as the entire region is suffering from one of the worst droughts in recent history. Extreme heat warnings in California were finally expected to expire Monday night.
WeatherNation's forecast for Tuesday showed hot and dry weather continuing to sweep across the west coast Tuesday as 18million people are currently under severe heat advisories
Extreme high temperatures continued to cook the west coast on Monday afternoon
The extreme heat is expected to wane this week as temperatures are forecast to drop on Wednesday
By Friday, the region will have emerged from the extreme heat
A thermometer at Death Valley National Park in southeastern California showed temperatures soaring to 133 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday
George Harris (left) was photographed by Margaret Owen (right) as he displayed a thermometer at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park in California on Sunday
Southern California residents sought refuge from the extreme heat on Saturday in the Whitewater River, in California, as dangerously hot conditions hit the Coachella Valley over the weekend with possible highs of 115 to 120 degrees, according to the National Weather Service
Max the dog dried off after a quick bath in the Whitewater River, in California, on Saturday
A thermometer outside Furnace Creek Visitors Center in the heart of Death Valley showed 134 degrees Fahrenheit shortly before 4pm on Sunday, although a National Park Service ranger said that it was typically slightly above the official reading.
Death Valley’s 130F weather matches one of the hottest temperatures on Earth, which was recorded in the same location last August. It is still being reviewed by the World Meteorological Organization, which is the arbiter
