Three digit temperatures are expected to worsen the wildfires currently raging in the Southwestern US that started earlier this week, meteorologists forecast.
The widespread Erskine Fire is currently burning 40 miles east of Bakersfield, California and has already resulted in two fatalities.
"Triple-digit heat will return to parts of [Southern California], and excessive heat will become likely in the Central Valley of California with some areas getting to, or just past 110 degrees Fahrenheit," AccuWeather Western U.S. weather expert Ken Clark observed.
Similar high temperatures are likewise expected to hit Las Vegas and Phoenix, where the mercury will log on to 110 degrees F, higher than the average by five to 10 degrees.
The hot weather will limit containment efforts of ongoing major wildfires in the Southwest, including the Erskine Fire and the Cedar Fire in Arizona.
The Erskine Fire has already incinerated 45,000 acres in Kern County California since it ignited on Thursday. It has burned around 100 structures and is threatening an additional 1,500 more.
An elderly couple fell victim to the blaze as they tried to flee, according to news reports.
California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Kern County to help residents cope with the damage.
The National Interagency Fire Center reports that nearly 2 million acres have already been burned by wildfires in the first six months of the year. This is around 1 million more acres burned compared to the same period last year.
