Wildfire in LA Burns 7,000 Acres During Record-Setting Heat Wave

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A fire in Los Angeles has burned more than 7,000 acres since erupting on Friday.

Officials reported Monday that the La Tuna fire, one the city’s largest fires in decades by acreage, is now at least 30 percent contained.


The fire shut down the 210 Freeway and led to 700 evacuations in the region at its peak over the weekend, with Gov. Jerry Brown declaring a state of emergency Sunday. The fire spread in the midst of an intense and record-breaking heat wave in California over the past week.

As reported by Climate Signals:

“Extreme heat, years of ongoing drought, and tree die off—all fueled by climate change—are increasing wildfire risk in California. There is a significant, increasing trend in the number of large fires and the total area burned per year in the United States. The trend is most significant in the western mountainous regions and the Southwest. Looking at the records extending back over the 20th century, 13 of California’s 20 largest wildfires burned since 2000. And the fingerprint of global warming has been formally identified in California’s wildfires.”

For a deeper dive:

New York Times, LA Times, CNN, ABC7, CBS, NBC LA, Mashable, MarketWatch, CBS/AP. Background: Climate Signals

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