The York fire has burned pinyon pines, junipers and the region’s famous Joshua trees, which are particularly vulnerable to wildfires
The hundreds of firefighters battling California’s largest wildfire this year in the Mojave national preserve have to work strategically to avoid disrupting a fragile ecosystem.
The York fire, which erupted last Friday, has burned through more than 125 sq miles (323.7 sq km) across the California desert toward the Nevada border.
Continue reading...A brief downpour helped crews on the ground, but experts warn they could face unstable wind conditions that could blow fire back at them
Firefighters have managed to partially contain a giant wildfire in the Mojave desert that scorched tens of thousands of acres of scrub and sent smoke across the Las Vegas Strip.
The York fire was mapped at roughly 125 sq miles (323.7 sq km) on Tuesday, with 23% containment, making it the largest wildfire of the season in California.
Continue reading...Reprieve expected to be brief, with the forecast calling for highs again above 110F for several days later in the week
Phoenix’s record stretch of daily highs over 110F (43.3C) ended Monday as cooling monsoon rains slightly tempered the dangerous heatwave that suffocated the American south-west throughout July.
The region, from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into California’s desert, has been grappling with historic heat since June. Phoenix and its suburbs sweltered more intensely than most, with several records including the 31 consecutive days of 110F days. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974.
Continue reading...Animal, found lounging in a Burbank neighborhood, climbed over a wall and headed back after it was done relaxing
With temperatures soaring across the US, people and animals alike are looking for a place to find relief. In southern California, one bear sought to beat the heat by taking a dip in a hot tub.
On Friday, police in Burbank responded to a report of a bear sighting in a residential neighborhood. The bear was filmed calmly lounging in the hot tub. After a short dip, the bear climbed over a wall and headed to a tree behind the home, police said in a statement.
Continue reading...BB-12 had made a habit of crossing highways to visit the wealthy beach enclave, but last Thursday he was struck on the 101
A young black bear that was recently spotted strolling on Malibu beaches died after he was hit by a car on the freeway, the US National Park Service (NPS) announced.
The bear, known as BB-12, had successfully crossed southern California highways five times before he was fatally struck on the 101 freeway on 20 July.
Continue reading...The suspects – including a US marine – face up to 31 years for the 2022 molotov cocktail attack on the Costa Mesa clinic
US authorities have arrested a third man for his alleged involvement in the firebombing of a Planned Parenthood clinic in southern California last year.
Xavier Batten, 21, was arrested on federal charges on Friday in Florida, the US attorney’s office in Los Angeles said. Officials allege that Batten, along with two other men, including a US marine, conspired to attack a women’s health clinic because it had provided reproductive health services.
Continue reading...Governor Gavin Newsom welcomes news after district voted Friday to accept curriculum following a lengthy meeting
A school district in southern California has decided to adopt the state’s new social studies book and curriculum after previously rejecting it for its reference of LGBTQ+ figures in history.
The Temecula Valley unified school district voted to accept the curriculum following a lengthy meeting on Friday where parents, teachers and community members spoke for and against it. The decision has been welcomed by Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, for thwarting an attempt to “whitewash history” and removed the threat of sanctions against the school district for not adopting the curriculum.
Continue reading...The state’s snowpack, full from winter storms, has not yet melted, while the rest of the region bakes in summer temperatures
While most of California swelters through a prolonged, extreme heatwave, Mammoth Mountain ski resort in the eastern Sierras announced that it would be extending its season into early August.
“We are stoked to announce that we’re staying open,” the resort, which saw its snowiest season on record this winter, announced on Instagram. Mammoth Mountain had planned to remain open through the end of July and is now planning to close on 6 August. Located along eastern Sierra Nevada, the resort often stays open into June or July – but this season will be only the third to extend into August in its 69-year operating history.
Continue reading...Phoenix and Californian town of Needles experiencing 70th day in which temperatures have reached 90F
A brutal heatwave is persisting throughout much of the US, with cities across the south-west reaching all-time records for hottest consecutive days. Intense heatwaves are becoming more frequent as a result of the climate crisis, but alarmingly, these streaks of hot days are also lasting longer.
People living in cities in Arizona, California and Texas are entering their second month of days in which the temperature reaches 90F (32.2C) and above. Cities such as Phoenix, and Needles in California, have had no relief from this extreme heat in the past 70 days, with Phoenix recently experiencing three consecutive weeks of temperatures reaching 110F (43.3C) and above.
Continue reading...High temperature ‘may have been a factor’ in death of 71-year-old Steve Curry in Golden Canyon area, park officials say
A 71-year-old man collapsed and died in Death Valley on Tuesday as temperatures in the valley – the point of lowest elevation in North America as well as one of the hottest places in the world – reached at least 121F (49.4C).
“Heat may have been a factor in his death,” Death Valley national park officials said in a press release.
Continue reading...Gavin Newsom, the state governor, said his office will provide new school textbooks and send a bill for violating state laws
A school district in southern California will be fined more than $1m after rejecting a curriculum that included Harvey Milk, the pioneering gay rights leader who the the school board’s president has called a “pedophile”.
Gavin Newsom, the California governor, announced on Wednesday that his office will send textbooks to the Temecula school district that include Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the state, as well as fine the district $1.5m for failing to “adopt an updated social studies curriculum”.
Continue reading...Marc Tessier-Lavigne said he will step down because he expects continued debate about his ability to lead the university
The president of Stanford University, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, has announced he will resign after concerns about the integrity of his research.
Tessier-Lavigne announced his plans to step down on 31 August in a letter to students and staff on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Jury rules in favor of California man who says he developed a deadly cancer from heavy exposure to talc powder since childhood
Johnson & Johnson must pay $18.8m to a California man who said he developed cancer from exposure to its baby powder, a jury decided on Tuesday, a setback for the company as it seeks to settle thousands of similar cases over its talc-based products in US bankruptcy court.
The jury ruled in favor of Emory Hernandez Valadez, who filed suit last year in California state court in Oakland against J&J, seeking monetary damages. Hernandez, 24, has said he developed mesothelioma, a deadly cancer, in the tissue around his heart as a result of heavy exposure to the company’s talc since childhood. The six-week trial was the first over talc that New Jersey-based J&J has faced in almost two years.
Continue reading...At least 97% of the blood samples contained a type of PFAS known as PFOS, associated with multiple serious health problems
California researchers have found new evidence that several chemicals used in plastic production and a wide array of other industrial applications are commonly present in the blood of pregnant women, creating increased health risks for mothers and their babies.
The researchers said their findings add to a growing body of evidence showing that many chemicals people are routinely exposed to are leading to subtle but harmful changes in health. The work should be a “wake-up call” to policymakers, they said.
This story is co-published with the New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group
Continue reading...Turning offices to residences is touted as a housing fix for a work-from-home era, but a $520,000 listing takes the brief too literally
More people are working from home these days, but a video of a California office-to-residential conversion that recently went viral on TikTok would blur the line between office and home life completely.
The TikTok profile zillowtastrophes posted the video which features a one-bedroom, one-bath “recently converted” property in San Rafael, California, just 18 miles (30km) north of San Francisco, priced at $520,000, a steal for the area.
Continue reading...Phoenix, Arizona, logged its 16th day above 110F, and California’s Death Valley reached 122F as cities offered cooling centers
A dangerous heatwave threatened a wide swath of the south-west with potentially deadly temperatures in the triple digits on Saturday as some cooling centers extended their hours and emergency rooms prepared to treat more people with heat-related illnesses.
“Near record temperatures are expected this weekend!” the National Weather Service in Phoenix warned in a tweet, advising people to follow its safety tips such as drinking plenty of water and checking on relatives and neighbors.
Continue reading...Three brush fires burning in rural areas across Riverside county, where 1,000 homes are under evacuation orders
Firefighters in southern California were battling three separate brush fires that started on Friday afternoon amid a blistering heatwave.
The fires were all within 40 miles (65km) of each other in mostly rural areas across Riverside county, south-east of Los Angeles.
Continue reading...January death of Elvis Presley’s daughter, 54, ruled as being from natural causes due to effects of small bowel obstruction
Lisa Marie Presley died from complications from bariatric surgery she had several years ago, authorities have said.
The 12 January death at age 54 of the singer, songwriter, daughter and heir of Elvis Presley was ruled as being from natural causes due to effects of a small bowel obstruction.
Continue reading...Extreme dry conditions raising fire risk; air quality alert for Minnesota took effect at 8am on Friday
Vermont governor Phil Scott said his formal request to President Joe Biden for a major disaster declaration has been approved.
The major disaster declaration unlocks federal disaster funds to assist individuals and communities recover from the devastating floods earlier this week.
The disaster declaration provides federal support for recovery. It’s separate from, and in addition to, the federal emergency declaration the president already signed when he was overseas to help with the initial emergency phase.
It’s incredibly important to get flooded homes, businesses and public buildings as dry as possible to prevent other outcomes like mould. We’re working on resources to help with that.
I’m very grateful for the speed of Fema in the White House. It will open up significant federal resources for communities, individuals, businesses [...] In anticipation of these funds, we are working to develop a concrete list of resources to help impacted Vermonters and making sure it’s as easy as possible for Vermonters to access those.
Continue reading...Over a third of Americans under extreme heat warnings as Vermont, still recovering from historic flooding, prepares for more storms
The US is bracing for more extreme weather from coast to coast, with a heatwave hitting California, tornados in the midwest and the east expecting more rain as it continues to reel from historic flooding.
Residents of Vermont, still suffering from an onslaught of dangerous weather in recent days, are preparing for another round of severe storms in the area beginning as early as Thursday night.
Continue reading...