State of emergency after fires in California

“The steep terrain quickly makes fire-fighting impossible.” “Some regions are inaccessible,” Cal Fire spokesman Rick Carhart told the “San Bernardino Sun.” The wildfire, which broke out near Highland on Thursday evening under still unclear circumstances, is now threatening more than 35,000 buildings. Several hundred people have spent the past few nights in emergency shelters. Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County in order to provide federal funds for firefighting and to support residents.

Southern California has been hit by a heat wave for days. In downtown Los Angeles, nearly 44 degrees were measured on Friday, one of the highest temperatures in almost 150 years. In San Bernardino County, about 100 kilometers to the east, temperatures of more than 38 degrees were also recorded in many regions last week.