Daily temperature records around California continued to be set this week as an unusual October heat wave ravaged the state and thwarted firefighters’ efforts to bring blazes under control in Southern California.
Even though the current heat wave peaked Wednesday, the outlook for the weekend doesn’t bring much relief, according to the National Weather Service. It will be a cool 4 to 8 degrees on Thursday across Southland but will still be warmer than average for this time of year.
“Warm temperatures will return Saturday,” the weather service’s Oxnard office said in its forecast Thursday morning. “This heatwave will not be as strong as in recent days but will nevertheless be hot enough to warrant excessive heat watches over the valleys and mountains.”
Over the past two days, daily heat records have fallen across the state.
The temperature reached 111 degrees in Woodland Hills on Wednesday, breaking the previous record of 109 degrees set in 1991. At Palmdale Airport, it was 105 degrees, eclipsing the old record of 101 degrees set in 2020. Inland, temperatures reached 110 degrees at Lake Elsinore, breaking its record of 106 degrees set in 2012.
In Central California, Fresno Yosemite International Airport set a daily record Wednesday by reaching 102 degrees, breaking its previous record of 101 set in 1980.
In Northern California, several daily heat records were broken Wednesday, including at Stockton Airport where it reached 105 degrees, breaking its old record of 101 set in 1952. And in Modesto, it reached 104, breaking the previous record of 99 degrees set in 2012.
Amid summer temperatures, firefighters across Southern California are working to stop three wildfires that broke out weeks earlier.
One of the most difficult was the Line Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest, where containment peaked at 83% on Sunday before the fire grew out of control and triggered more evacuations as containment was tightened. survey. Crews are working to regain control of the fire and containment returned to 79% Thursday morning. The fire burned 43,922 acres.
The other major fires in the area — the Bridge and Airport fires — were 98% and 96% contained, respectively, as of Thursday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
