Major wildfires burning across the West have consumed tens of thousands of acres and forced evacuations in at least three states. In New Mexico, one particular wildfire exploded in size on Thursday.
Dry conditions are hampering firefighting efforts in a region that’s expected to see dangerous and potentially deadly heat over the weekend and into early next week.
Large fires burning in Arizona and New Mexico as seen from space today. #azwx #nmwx pic.twitter.com/ZAPrcl8MU4
— Kyle Roberts (@KyleWeather) June 16, 2016
Firenado inside Sherpa #wildfire in Santa Barbara County #California https://t.co/pUO5GkJwiK via @Strange_Sounds pic.twitter.com/FeadC2Uunn
— Strange Sounds (@Strange_Sounds) June 18, 2016
So-called "firenado" erupts from #California #wildfire https://t.co/gzUvXlAfsI https://t.co/HlFZ49GTpW …@NBCNewYork
— JKH / Gay Leftist (@jaycamikenGL) June 18, 2016
#firetornado #firewhirl tonight from the growing #ScherpaFire #cawx #ksby pic.twitter.com/yqbuUoPBfo
— Dave Hovde (@tvdave) June 17, 2016
“Humidity values less than 15 percent and dew points as low as the single digits will be present and persistent across a large portion of the Southwest through at least Sunday,” said weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles.
The most extreme heat in the coming days will be in the Desert Southwest where highs could climb to near 120 degrees, including in Phoenix, where it hasn’t been that hot in more than 20 years.
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