Click here to find the latest headlines from KVPR.
FRESNO, Calif. — Weather apps on Apple devices on Thursday briefly forecasted temperatures as high as 120 degrees for next Saturday. But the National Weather Service assured the public those readings were not accurate, and were likely due to a glitch.
Nonetheless, a heat wave is expected as the Fourth of July holiday approaches. Triple digit weather reaching as high as 112 degrees is expected to start this Saturday and extend into the following weekend. By Wednesday, the weather service predicts temperatures will be 10 to 15 degrees above normal.
Weather experts say this hot, dry weather is not only dangerous for human health, it makes the risk for wildfires much more likely. The National Weather Service office in Hanford also said gusty winds are predicted for this weekend along the Sierra Nevada down to the Kern County Desert, which could increase fire activity.
Wildfires sparked by lightning have kept hundreds of firefighters busy in Fresno County and the high Sierra Nevada region this week.
The U.S. Forest Service says 18 different fires were sparked by lightning strikes that hit the Sierra National Forest on Monday. Lower in the foothills, near Yokuts Valley, fire crews are busy battling three different fires — the Bolt, Flash and Hog fires — that were combined into one incident called the Fresno June Lightning Complex Fire.
As of Thursday afternoon, crews have reached about 30 percent containment on that fire, which has grown to nearly 10,000 acres and is the largest fire in the region so far this year. Around 750 structures are threatened by the blazes.
An evacuation order is in place for homes around Wonder Valley and Yokuts Valley. An evacuation warning is in place for areas just east of Avocado Lake.
The June Lightning Complex Fire is burning in largely remote areas, which has made it difficult for fire crews to suppress them. Smoke has concentrated over a large area of the Sierra.
A portion of Highway 180 eastbound is closed due to hazards. The Red Cross has opened an evacuation center at Reedley College. The Fresno Fairgrounds is also available for evacuees to take their large animals. Meanwhile, Valley PBS is currently off-air after its transmitter tower and infrastructure on Bear Mountain were affected by the wildfires.
KVPR's Elizabeth Arakelian, Joshua Yeager and Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado contributed.