Brutal and dangerous temperatures are being felt from California to Massachusetts, with more than 120 million Americans under extreme heat warnings or advisories. The National Weather Service said more than 60 new record highs will be set in 20 states by the end of the week.
As temperatures soared into the triple digits, the Hoover Dam experienced a major scare when a transformer explosion caused smoke. The dam supplies power to California, Nevada and Arizona.
West of Dallas, an intense wildfire fueled by the heat burned several homes as temperatures reached 111 degrees. The fire was about 10% contained with 4,000 hectares burned by Tuesday evening, according to authorities.
On Tuesday, 85 large fires burned more than three million acres in 13 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Twenty-four triple-digit days are also taking a toll on Texas infrastructure. Drought conditions are causing ground to move, breaking water lines. Of the nearly 500 outages in Fort Worth this year, nearly 40 percent have occurred in the past month.
So far, Texas’ fragile power grid is keeping pace with record demand as customer pleas to conserve power continue.
Forecasters say the weather pattern is stuck, driving warmer, drier conditions to the north and creating a drought, which leads to warmer temperatures, causing parts of California, Arizona and the central plains to suffocate under a heat dome .
“We’re certainly seeing more extreme weather because of climate change,” Sarah Barnes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office, told CBS News. “This drought pushed us into summer much earlier than we normally see.”
In that kind of heat, paramedics say you can be in trouble within minutes. In Fort Worth, 14 people were taken to the hospital Monday, with one in critical condition. The biggest mistake people make in the heat is not drinking enough water.
The United States isn’t the only place melting under a heat wave. Great Britain broke his record for the hottest temperature ever recorded with 34 locations across the country surpassing previous highs.
Rare wildfires broke out in London as it became the hottest day since record-keeping began. Across the country, train tracks buckled in the heat and service was slowed or canceled.
Meanwhile, Spain fought at least 30 fires. In France, firefighters battled to contain a wildfire burning an area twice the size of Paris. Portugal has had more than 1,000 heat-related deaths.
Ramy Inocencio contributed to this report.
More Kris Van Cleave
