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Wildfires, Record Highs Scorch California

remains of a destroyed car

Wildfires continued to burn across California this weekend, abetted by record high temperatures that caused power outages affecting thousands of customers in Los Angeles, CNN reported Sunday.

“Friday’s record-setting heat led to unprecedented peak electricity demand,” the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said, according to CNN. 34,500 customers lost power, about 2.5 percent of Los Angeles customers.

That 2.5 percent was forced to endure the record-breaking heat wave without air conditioning or fans.

Downtown Los Angeles hit 108 degrees Fahrenheit Friday, breaking its daytime temperature record of 94 degrees, set in 1992. University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) thermometers also recorded a record-breaking high of 111 degrees, according to CNN. The National Weather Service (NWS) also reported record highs on Friday of 114 at the Hollywood Burbank Airport, 117 at the Van Nuys Airport, 117 in Ramona and 114 in Santa Ana, The New York Times reported.

Further south, the San Diego NWS said Friday’s temperature of 120 degrees in Chino might be the highest temperature ever recorded temperature by the Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) in the valley or coastal areas of Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino or San Diego counties.

The record temperatures were a break from historical patterns that usually see Southern California reach its highest temperatures in September and October, according to The New York Times.

“The overall trend over decades to more intense and more frequent heat waves is definitely a signal of global warming,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain told The New York Times.

The heat wave did no favors for firefighters combating the dozens of wildfires that have broken out in the Western U.S.

READ MORE AT EcoWatch.com

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