Wildfires in California have burned 1 million acres so far this year. Heat wave poses more risk
Wildfires in California have burned 1 million acres so far this year. Heat wave poses more risk
Katario Dupree Young takes a break while exercising at Griffith Observatory, with the Hollywood sign visible in the distance, in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
FIRE - The Line Fire jumps highway 330 as a motorist speeds past Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
FILE - Firefighters monitor the advancing Line Fire in Angelus Oaks, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
A person with a dog walks along a trail as a layer of smog blankets downtown Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A shirtless hiker pauses for a moment in the shade while walking along a trail in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
People use umbrellas for shade while visiting Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A man runs along Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Tourists take selfies as fog and smog make for muggy weather over the Los Angeles basin, with downtown in the background, seen from Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Cassandra Floyd enjoys the hot weather while playing the Indian sitar on the grounds of the Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Cassandra Floyd enjoys the warm weather while playing the sitar on the grounds of the Griffith Observatory, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
City of Los Angeles workers wear wide brim sun hats as they dig up a trench looking for a water pipe leak outside the Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mrs. Lee, 80, originally from South Korea, stretches in the shade after trekking around the Griffith Observatory with friends on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Tourists Lee and Gia, with their dachshund dogs, Milo and Wednesday, visit the Griffith Observatory overlooking the Hollywood sign on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. The risk of wildfires increased across California as an autumn heatwave scorched much of the state. Some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
City of Los Angeles workers dig up a trench looking for a water pipe leak outside the Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Fog and smog make for muggy weather over the Los Angeles basin, with downtown in the background, as seen from Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. The risk of wildfires increased across California as an autumn heatwave scorched much of the state. Some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Katario Dupree Young takes a break while exercising at Griffith Observatory, with the Hollywood sign visible in the distance, in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Katario Dupree Young takes a break while exercising at Griffith Observatory, with the Hollywood sign visible in the distance, in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
FIRE - The Line Fire jumps highway 330 as a motorist speeds past Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
FIRE - The Line Fire jumps highway 330 as a motorist speeds past Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
FILE - Firefighters monitor the advancing Line Fire in Angelus Oaks, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
FILE - Firefighters monitor the advancing Line Fire in Angelus Oaks, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
A person with a dog walks along a trail as a layer of smog blankets downtown Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A person with a dog walks along a trail as a layer of smog blankets downtown Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A shirtless hiker pauses for a moment in the shade while walking along a trail in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A shirtless hiker pauses for a moment in the shade while walking along a trail in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
People use umbrellas for shade while visiting Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
People use umbrellas for shade while visiting Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A man runs along Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A man runs along Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Tourists take selfies as fog and smog make for muggy weather over the Los Angeles basin, with downtown in the background, seen from Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Tourists take selfies as fog and smog make for muggy weather over the Los Angeles basin, with downtown in the background, seen from Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Cassandra Floyd enjoys the hot weather while playing the Indian sitar on the grounds of the Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Cassandra Floyd enjoys the hot weather while playing the Indian sitar on the grounds of the Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Cassandra Floyd enjoys the warm weather while playing the sitar on the grounds of the Griffith Observatory, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Cassandra Floyd enjoys the warm weather while playing the sitar on the grounds of the Griffith Observatory, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
City of Los Angeles workers wear wide brim sun hats as they dig up a trench looking for a water pipe leak outside the Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
City of Los Angeles workers wear wide brim sun hats as they dig up a trench looking for a water pipe leak outside the Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mrs. Lee, 80, originally from South Korea, stretches in the shade after trekking around the Griffith Observatory with friends on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mrs. Lee, 80, originally from South Korea, stretches in the shade after trekking around the Griffith Observatory with friends on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Tourists Lee and Gia, with their dachshund dogs, Milo and Wednesday, visit the Griffith Observatory overlooking the Hollywood sign on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. The risk of wildfires increased across California as an autumn heatwave scorched much of the state. Some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Tourists Lee and Gia, with their dachshund dogs, Milo and Wednesday, visit the Griffith Observatory overlooking the Hollywood sign on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. The risk of wildfires increased across California as an autumn heatwave scorched much of the state. Some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
City of Los Angeles workers dig up a trench looking for a water pipe leak outside the Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
City of Los Angeles workers dig up a trench looking for a water pipe leak outside the Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the National Weather Service, some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Fog and smog make for muggy weather over the Los Angeles basin, with downtown in the background, as seen from Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. The risk of wildfires increased across California as an autumn heatwave scorched much of the state. Some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Fog and smog make for muggy weather over the Los Angeles basin, with downtown in the background, as seen from Griffith Observatory Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. The risk of wildfires increased across California as an autumn heatwave scorched much of the state. Some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The total acres burned in California this year surpassed 1 million as spiking temperatures Tuesday added to the challenges facing firefighters struggling to contain a stubborn blaze in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles that flared up over the weekend.
Evacuation orders were expanded again Monday for remote communities northeast of Los Angeles as the Line Fire that has been burning for nearly a month spread over nearly 68 square miles (176 square kilometers) of the San Bernardino Mountains and containment dropped from 83% to 76%.
“The dry vegetation, steep slopes and wind aligned ... to create conditions for the rapid fire spread,” according to a statement late Monday from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
The risk of wildfires increased across California as an autumn heatwave scorched much of the state. Some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according the National Weather Service.
San Francisco, where residents typically break out the sweaters in October, could hit 90 degrees (32 C), while triple digits (38 C) were predicted for Sacramento. The weather service office in the state’s capital urged residents to stay indoors during the heat of the day Tuesday.
Dry, hot winds in the northern part of the state prompted Pacific Gas & Electric to preemptively cut power to small clusters of customers in high-risk areas. The utility routinely stops electricity service in counties where weather conditions increase the probability of fires.
In Southern California, the Line Fire’s surge pushed the total acres burned across the state in 2024 to 1,001,993 (405,492 hectares) as of Tuesday morning, according to Cal Fire. The milestone surpasses the total scorched during the same time last year — 293,362 acres (118,719 hectares) — but is roughly on par with the five-year average for the period, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A 34-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to starting the Line Fire on Sept. 5. Justin Wayne Halstenberg of Norco, California, was charged with 11 arson-related crimes, according to court records.
At its height, the blaze threatened more than 65,000 homes in and around the Big Bear Lake area.