CNN News:美国加州山火持续肆虐 电力公司切断供电
Well, Cleveland and much of the U.S. are feeling cooler weather this week. The forecast for the American west is hot, dry and windy. And that's bad news for a region struggling with wildfires. Drought conditions have spread over 70 percent over the U.S. West. That makes the vegetation on the ground right for spreading potential fires.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the United States has seen an average of 46,700 fires each year over the past decade. This year, the nation has seen more than 44,000 fires so far. Each year, an average of 6 million acres have burned in wildfires across the country. This year, more than 7 million acres have already been lost. And there are still three more months to go in 2020.
In California where there have been more than 8,100 fires this year, the state's largest utility company has intentionally shut off power to try to prevent more wildfires. Electrical equipment can spark and ignite new blazes. There were 65,000 shutoffs planned early this week. Pacific Gas and Electric wanted to wait until high winds had passed and make sure no power lines were blown over or damaged before restoring electricity through them.
The National Weather Service expects that hot, dry weather could settle over the American west for one or two weeks. The Northeastern U.S. has also been suffering from drought conditions this year. Some of the rivers in that region are very low. The good news is, that unlike the West, rain is in the forecast for the Northeast. That could help states like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine with their water resources.