The brutal heat wave sweeping the Western U.S. is making it that much harder for firefighters to combat two wildfires that sparked Monday on the outskirts of Los Angeles. California's years-long drought and recent high winds have further fueled the flames. As of Wednesday, the twin wildfires in the Angeles National Forest were "0 percent contained" and covered a collective area of 5,400 acres. "They haven't merged as of yet but they are being handled as one fire," Maria Holguin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service, said of the fires, which are fewer than two miles apart.
More than 600 personnel are working to combat the fire, and more are expected to be brought in Wednesday. Over 12,000 people have been evacuated from 770 homes in the towns of Duarte and Azusa, located east of Los Angeles.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
2024: The year of conspiracy theoriesIN THE SPOTLIGHT Global strife and domestic electoral tensions made this year a bonanza for outlandish worldviews and self-justifying explanations
-
Five medical breakthroughs of 2024The Explainer The year's new discoveries for health conditions that affect millions
-
Top films coming out in 2025The Week Recommends Pick up some popcorn and settle in for a cinematic treat
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cycloneSpeed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinksSpeed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 endsSpeed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversibleSpeed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
-
At least 95 dead in Spain flash floodsSpeed Read Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane OscarSpeed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane MiltonSpeed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
