Opinion: The heat wave nearly broke our power grid and some of our readers agree!
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The heat wave left southern California reeling from record temperatures and wildfires. Here are some of the stories that readers told us were made worse by the extreme heat.
Diane Gorman
In Los Angeles, firefighters battling a massive wildfire in Glendale were battling the second-worst heat index since records began last fall, as they fought a 5-alarm blaze.
The fire continued to burn out of control Monday, threatening homes in the community of Bell Canyon, though crews reported no injuries or evacuations.
There were no plans to evacuate, as the fire destroyed more than 30 structures, including a police station and several homes, near the city.
A police officer stood in the driveway of her home, surrounded by thick smoke, while firefighters fanned out on the roof of the structure next door, which had collapsed earlier.
With wind gusts whipping through the valley and temperatures in the 90s, firefighters were battling more than 100 fires in Southern California, including blazes in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Riverside, Orange and Ventura counties.
Read more: ‘It was an apocalypse’: Residents of Southern California in firestorm after heat wave
The firefighters were battling an area fire that had burned more than 10,000 acres when it was sparked in a brush-covered area in the Angeles National Forest by lightning Monday morning. By noon, the fire had exploded into a 5-acre wildfire at the center of the blaze, including trees and brush, and the blaze had spread to seven homes from an estimated 20-30 homes, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department reported 11 injuries — three treated at the scene and eight treated at a hospital — and no evacuations were ordered. Some homes were destroyed, including three on the same street as the officer’s driveway, said the fire agency.
The fire is now being battled with a controlled burn operation, using 20-30 firefighters to keep the blaze on its side. At least 17 structures were burned in the fire, including a school, a business, a church, a home and a mobile home, officials said.
“My home is gone,” said Jennifer