US firefighters struggle to contain wildfires amid record heatwave


James Reinl
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Firefighters in the western US were on Sunday struggling to contain wildfires as the region was struck by a heatwave that has caused record temperatures.

Large fires are burning across a dozen western states, including Alaska, according to the US National Interagency Fire Centre.

Nearly 10,000 firefighters and support staff are tackling 57 blazes across 15 states nationally, the centre said on Saturday.

Communities have been told to evacuate their homes and two firefighters have died in an aircraft crash.

A wildfire raging uncontrollably across southern Oregon has knocked out electrical lines and hit power supplies in California and Nevada.

Sweltering conditions have struck much of the Pacific coastline and as far inland as the western edge of the Rocky Mountains this weekend, covering an area that is home to more than 30 million people.

Las Vegas matched its record of 47.2 Celsius on Saturday.

California’s Death Valley National Park, about 180km west of Las Vegas, registered a high of 54 Celsius on Friday.

Forecasters issued heat warnings for Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Jose, the Silicon Valley technology hub south of San Francisco.

"Over 30 million people remain under either excessive heat warnings or heat advisories," the National Weather Service said in a weekend alert.

The weekend's hot weather follows another heatwave that struck the western US and Canada last month.

The Canadian province of British Columbia then recorded all-time high temperatures for three days in a row.

The death toll is not yet known but is thought to run into the hundreds.

It was the hottest June on record in North America, according to European Union climate scientists.

Emissions of heat-trapping gases have driven global temperatures up, stoking fierce storms, extreme heatwaves, droughts and wildfires.

The last six years, including 2020, have been the six warmest on record.

Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov

Where to buy

Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

GP3 race, 12:30pm

Formula 1 final practice, 2pm

Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm

Formula 2 race, 6:40pm

Performance: Sam Smith

FIXTURES

All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday
Sevilla v Levante (midnight)

Saturday
Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad (7.15pm)
Eibar v Valencia (9.30pm)
Atletico Madrid v Alaves (11.45pm)

Sunday
Girona v Getafe (3pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7.15pm)
Las Palmas v Espanyol (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna (11.45pm)

Monday
Malaga v Real Betis (midnight)

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8

Power: 611bhp

Torque: 620Nm

Transmission: seven-speed automatic

Price: upon application

On sale: now

Need to know

Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.

Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.

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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Updated: July 12, 2021, 10:30 AM