More than 100 large wildfires are burning across nearly 2.3 million acres of the U.S. West, as forecasters warn Americans to brace for another extreme heat wave this week.
Driving the news: "Widespread air quality alerts and scattered Red Flag Warnings stretch from the Northwest and Northern Rockies to the High Plains, as well as throughout parts of central California," the National Weather Service said Sunday.
Details: 107 large fires were burning across 15 states on Sunday, with weather conditions already dangerous, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
- Dixie Fire, California's second-biggest wildfire in the state's history, is the largest blaze now burning in the U.S., and authorities. It has destroyed 627 buildings and damaged 42 other structures, razing 489,287 acres as of Sunday night.
- "Near critical conditions with wind gusts up to 45 mph were reported over north central Montana, and up to 30 mph in eastern Oregon," the NIFC noted in its statement.
- "These winds caused active fire behavior on the Whitmore, Green Ridge, Black Butte, Thorne Creek, and Woods Creek fires. Extensive smoke continues to blanket California, although many wildfires were active in the late afternoon."
By the numbers: Per the NIFC on Sunday, 25 large fires were burning in Montana, 20 in Idaho, 16 in Oregon, 13 in Washington state, 11 in California, 10 in Alaska and four in Wyoming.
- Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and New Mexico had each reported one large fire burning.
Threat level: "The fire outlook continues to reflect warmer and drier conditions leading to the high potential for severe wildfire activity throughout the western United States through the rest of summer and into the fall," per the NIFC.
- "Widespread high temperatures observed across areas in the West and with periods of lightning activity continue to exacerbate the wildfire situation."
The big picture: The past few months have already seen an unprecedented, deadly heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, with wildfires raging across the West well ahead of peak fire season.
- Scientists have tied these extreme weather events to climate change.
- The UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was releasing a sweeping report on climate change and the warming planet on Monday.