Los Angeles conducts evacuations as first wildfires of the season burn thousands of acres

Los Angeles County authorities conducted an evacuation of about 1,200 campers over the weekend as the first wildfire of the season continues to burn thousands of acres across a mountainous area.

Authorities have also urged people to be vigilant about the fast-moving fire, which began on Saturday and was 15% contained by Sunday evening. There is a Red Flag Warning in effect until 3 p.m. Monday local time in northwest Los Angeles and Ventura County due to critical fire weather conditions, something that is affecting over 10 million people.

Although temperatures have dropped over the past hours, Cal Fire urged people to remain vigilant and be prepared to evacuate in case of need. There are no reports of people harmed by the fire, which did affect at least two structures.

The alert comes as large swaths of the country brace for extreme heat over the week, with 72 million people under such warnings, according to the National Weather Service.

Los Angeles is not included in the warnings, which mostly cover the Midwest and the Northeast, but does show that most of the U.S. is grappling in one way or another with environmental phenomena.

"The duration of this heat wave is notable and potentially the longest experienced in decades for some locations," the federal Weather Prediction Center said, according to NBC News. Forecasters added that temperatures will be as much as 25 degrees Farenheit above normal for many areas under this summer system.

Moreover, this summer could be the hottest in New York City history, surpassing 2023, which is currently the hottest on record. Authorities are already encouraging people to stay in cooled indoor spaces next week, and published a map of public spaces with air conditioning.

Other areas of the country have been affected by heat domes in the past weeks, with Texas, Arizona and Florida also seeing record temperatures for this part of the year. Last week, six migrants died late last week while attempting to enter to the United States through the southern border, The Guardian reported.

Arizona authorities, on their end, are resorting to ice baths in hopes of saving heat stroke victims in a city that has seen hundreds of heat-related deaths last year. Starting this season, the hottest big city in the country will implement the measure as a go-to protocol while taking victims to the hospital.

In recent months, Mexico and the United States have been experiencing the El Niño phenomenon, which causes sea surface temperatures to be warmer than average, affecting the climate worldwide.

Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the southern part of the state after heavy rainfall affected the area. The mayors of Miami-Dade and Fort Lauderdale, Daniella Levine Cava and Dean Trantalis, also declared respective states of emergency, along with the cities of Dania Beach and Sunny Isles Beach.

Florida has been experiencing more extreme weather events as the effects of climate change become more evident. Over the past weeks, the southern part of the state saw a string of record temperatures for this part of the year.