Very hot temperatures combined with low humidity and wind gusts up to 40 mph made conditions favorable for fire ignition and rapid fire spread. While there were no red flag warnings up for Southern California, the Lake Fire in Los Angeles County continued to burn. As of Friday morning, that fire covered 11,000 acres and was 12 percent contained. In Colorado, the Pine Gulf Fire north of Grand Junction grew to 73,381 acres making it the fourth largest fire in Colorado history. The intense heat ramping up across the West comes on the heels of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) releasing its July monthly climate report on Thursday stating that July 2020 was the second hottest July on record for the planet, and the #1 hottest on record for the Northern Hemisphere. It also stated that arctic sea ice reached record lows. Globally, 2020 is shaping up to be one of the hottest years on record.
Kathryn Prociv, 'Sweltering heat triggers power outages across California', NBC News