"Potent Mix of Record Heat and Dryness Fuels Wildfires Across the West"

"'These unprecedented extreme events are exactly the types of events that are more likely due to the global warming that’s already occurred.'"

"Wildfires burned across hundreds of thousands of acres in the American and Canadian West this week, fueled by scorching temperatures that are breaking heat and fire records across the region.

In California, while temperatures have eased, at least 15 cities have seen record-breaking heat, and the state has experienced its hottest summer on record. San Francisco hit 106 degrees over the weekend, breaking its previous high by 3 degrees. Stoked by unusually high temperatures, fires burned on thousands of acres just outside Los Angeles, while firefighters in Washington, Oregon and Montana battled dozens of blazes across those states.

By the end of the day Tuesday, at least 81 large fires were blazing across 1.5 million acres of the U.S. West, from Colorado to California and north to Washington. Over the Canadian border, British Columbia has already had a record-breaking fire season—and it's not over yet. Cities including Seattle were shrouded in a smoky fog. In satellite pictures, the smoke could be seen traveling the jet stream and reaching the East Coast."

Georgina Gustin reports for InsideClimate News September 5, 2017.

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"Oregon Wildfire Ravages Picturesque Gorge, Ash Chokes Communities" (Reuters)