Scorching heat expected in US West, Southeast

Dangerously hot conditions will dominate over the rest of the July Fourth holiday weekend in much of the US West Coast, Southeast and Middle Atlantic seaboard, forecasters said on Friday, as California firefighters battled one of the first big wildfires of the season.Around 108mn Americans will spend the remainder of the weekend under excessive heat advisories, with record-breaking temperatures forecast for many spots in California, southern Oregon and the Southwest, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.The West Coast will hover 15°-30° above average, reaching 110° Fahrenheit (43° Celsius)."Expect only subtle changes to our daily high temperatures through the weekend,” the NWS in Flagstaff, Arizona, said on X."Where did you go, monsoon? Hurry back,” it said, referring to a recent bout of torrential rain in the area, which is usually bone-dry this time of year.Some of the hottest spots will include Phoenix where it will be 115F (46C), Washington DC where it is expected to climb to 100F (38C), and Palm Springs, California, where it will reach 119F (48C).That is almost three times as hot as it will be in Yellowstone National Park in Montana, where the forecast was for temperatures to dip to 37F by nightfall.The weather service urged people to stay hydrated, out of the sunlight, and in buildings with sufficient air-conditioning.Stifling heat will also prevail from Mississippi to Florida, and north along the Eastern Seaboard to Pennsylvania, where temperatures will reach past 100F (37C).The NWS warned that hot overnight conditions across the Mississippi Valley could lead to "a dangerous situation for those without access to adequate cooling”.Hot, dry and windy conditions in the West were forcing fire officials and forecasters to issue warnings about the risk of wildfires.The so-called Thompson Fire in Butte County, California, about 65 miles (105km) north of Sacramento, has scorched almost six square miles (16sq km) of scrub and brush since it started on Tuesday.As of morning on Friday, the fire was 46% contained after forcing some 13,000 households to evacuate.Most of the evacuation orders have been lifted by early on Friday as firefighters made progress controlling the blaze, which had damaged or destroyed about 30 structures, fire officials said.Some 225 miles (362km) south, firefighters battled the French Fire that threatened Mariposa, a gateway to Yosemite National Park.The 800-acre (323-hectare) fire was 5% contained as winds calmed on Friday, helping firefighters make progress.Southern Texas faces a different sort of threat early next week when remnants of Hurricane Beryl are expected to dump heavy rains on the region.Beryl, the first hurricane of the season, made landfall in Mexico on Friday after killing 11 people as it carved a path of destruction across the Caribbean earlier this week.