Deadly West Coast heatwave threatens to top hottest temperature recorded on earth as wildfires rage

The National Weather Service reported that a slow-moving heat wave with the potential to break records is sweeping over the Western US as multiple wildfires continue to devour land in California.

The intense heat and humidity are predicted to persist through Saturday in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic areas of the US. Widespread temperature records are expected to be tied or even broken during the heat wave, with much of the West Coast likely to see triple-digit temperatures that are between 15 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit (8 and 16 degrees Celsius) higher than average, the NWS said.

With highs of 133F expected, Death Valley is projected to have what may be the hottest week ever recorded anywhere on Earth. "Record-breaking and dangerous heat" is expected over the Fourth of July week, starting on Independence Day itself when temperatures are expected to reach 125F.

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It is expected that the temperature would rise gradually over the next few days, reaching a maximum of 133F on July 9—just below the highest air temperature ever recorded there more than a century ago. “The duration of this heat is also concerning as scorching above average temperatures are forecast to linger into next week,” the weather service said.

In the Portland, Oregon, suburb of Gresham, Sherri Thompson, 52, was waiting in her car with her 14-year-old chihuahua Kiwani for a cooling center to open late Friday morning. Thompson has lived in her car for three years and can only run its air conditioning for about 20 minutes at a time as it causes the engine to overheat.

Thompson said the high temperatures prompted health concerns, as she had been hospitalized for a heat stroke in the past. “I have anxiety and panic attacks and I get worried. I don’t want to have another heat stroke, and everything just triggers my anxiety a lot,” she said.

The world record high air temperature of 134F was reported at Furnace Creek in Death Valley on July 10, 1913, according to the National Parks Service (NPS). Five days in a row hit 129F during the heat wave that reached its apex with that record.

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The sweltering heat has also fed wildfires in California that have scorched miles of wilderness.

A wildfire in central California has prompted the issuance of evacuation orders; this is just one of more than a dozen fires that are raging in the state as a result of an intense heat wave. According to fire officials, the French Fire in Mariposa County, which is close to Yosemite National Park, began on Thursday and had burned over 840 acres. As of Friday morning, it was only 5% contained.

About 1,100 people are affected by the fire, which has caused orders for residents in some portions of Mariposa County to evacuate, according to the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office.

Cal Fire stated that overnight, fire workers concentrated their efforts on establishing a fireline around the eastern edge of the Mariposa hamlet. The investigation into the fire's cause is still ongoing.