Heat Records Broken In Southern California As Hundreds Of Wildfires Burn Across The State
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — More than half a dozen heat records broke Wednesday as the entire state continues to roast under a heat wave exacerbated by hundreds of wildfires burning up and down California.
In Southern California, Burbank, Camarillo, Long Beach, Oxnard, UCLA, and Woodland Hills all saw record-breaking temperatures. Camarillo's previous record of 85 degrees set in 2007 was smashed by Wednesday's high of 95 degrees, while Burbank hit 109 degrees, the highest temperature it has seen on that date since 1986, when the city reached 100.
Long Beach, even with its location near the ocean, reached 100 degrees, surpassing the previous high of 99 degrees it set in 1986. Woodland Hills, which has set a number of records for high temperatures in recent years, hit 112 degrees, breaking its previous high of 109 degrees set in 1992.
Much of California woke up to hazy, smoky skies due to more than 370 wildfires burning, mostly in Central and Northern California. A large number of those fires were sparked by about 11,000 lightning strikes over the past four days.
In Southern California, the Holser Fire south of Lake Piru has burned 3,000 acres and is 60% contained; the Apple Fire in Riverside County has burned 33,424 acres and is 95% contained; and the Ranch 2 Fire north of Azusa has burned 4,237 acres and is 33% contained; and the Lake Fire southwest of Lake Hughes has burned 27,041 acres and is 48% contained.
The record-breaking heat wave, already in its sixth day, is expected to last through the end of the week before a break in the heat arrives this weekend.
