Largest wildfire in LA history sparks emergency

Rare heat wave threatens ancient tree grove and vineyards in western US

SONOMA, California - Vineyards moved their wine harvest and transit trains slowed for fear that some of the hottest weather in San Francisco Bay Area history would warp rails, as stifling temperatures and the smoky pall of wildfires marked an unofficial end to summer across the western United States.

In Los Angeles, a wildfire just north of downtown had grown on Saturday to the largest in the city's history, Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

Three structures had burned, at least two of them homes, but fire officials said they were confident they could tame the blaze unless winds picked up.

"The La Tuna Canyon Fire is an emergency that requires all available resources to protect our residents and keep our homes and other structures out of harm's way.

"We are grateful for the men and women of LAFD, and all our partner agencies, for their heroic efforts to attempt to bring the fire under control and to keep people and their homes safe," said Garcetti in a statement.

About 500 firefighters are working on the blaze, additional resources have been requested from the state, and about 100 Los Angeles firefighters are expected back soon from Texas, where they have been helping survivors from Hurricane Harvey, City News Service reported.

Wildfires also entered a 2,700-year-old grove of giant sequoia trees near Yosemite National Park and have driven people from their homes in Washington state, Oregon, Montana and other areas struggling with a weeklong heat wave that's gripped the region.

Heat record

San Francisco, meanwhile, set a heat record for the day before noon, hitting 94 degrees. By mid-afternoon, it was 101 in the coastal city.

With an all-time high of 106 on Friday, it became just the third time since the 1870s that San Francisco had back-to-back triple-digit days.

Temperatures reached 115 south of the city. It was a rare heat wave at a time of year that San Francisco residents usually call "Fogust" for its cloudy chill.

The region was so hot that officials with the Bay Area Rapid Transit system ordered trains to slow down on rails that were exposed to sun, expecting the heat would expand and possibly shift the metal track slightly, spokeswoman Alicia Trost said.

The weekend also broke heat records in wine counties north of San Francisco, where Labor Day for some vineyards marks the start of the busy grape harvest.

"We had been hoping for a mellow season," Kat Doescher, senior winemaker at Madrone Estate Winery outside Sonoma, said shortly after sunrise.

She inspected the chardonnay grapes that workers had harvested overnight under lights. "But I look at the forecasts, and I see a heat wave that's not getting any cooler."

Another wildfire burning near Yosemite had grown to 22 square kilometers and entered the Nelder Grove of 106 giant sequoias, despite firefighters' efforts to stave it off.

Giant sequoias are among the largest and longest-lived organisms on Earth, and survive naturally only in Northern California.

Fire officials said they had no immediate information on Saturday on whether any of the giant trees - including the 30-meters-around, 24-story-high Bull Buck sequoia - had burned.

Forecasters said more heat could be expected when remnants of Tropical Storm Lidia move north from Mexico's Baja California during the weekend.

Reuters - Xinhua

(China Daily 09/04/2017 page15)