美国有线新闻 CNN 加州山火肆虐 过火面积创历史新高（在线收听）

In the U.S. state of California, this gives you an idea of why the governor just declared a state of emergency.

美国加利福利尼亚州州长宣布进入紧急状态，下面来解释一下原因。

It applies to five counties in the central and southern areas of the state. That's where three wildfires are burning. They've chewed through tens of thousands of acres. They've forced thousands of people to evacuate and they have destroyed some homes. Statewide, California has lost more land to wildfires this year than at any other year on record.

加州中部和南部地区的五个县进入紧急状态。这些地区有三起山火在燃烧。山火已经吞噬了数万英亩土地。这导致数千名居民被迫撤离，多座房屋被毁。今年，加州全州因山火而损失的土地创下有记录以来的新高。

More than two million acres have burned in 2020. And though the state has a wildfire season which typically lasts from the spring through the fall, it often hits its worst point in October and November, so fire officials are particularly concerned about that. Over the weekend California broke temperature records that have stood since the 1950s.

2020年，有超过200万英亩土地被烧毁。尽管加州的山火季通常从春季持续至秋季，但最严重的山火往往发生在10月和11月，因此，消防官员对此特别关注。上周末，加州打破了自上世纪50年代以来的气温记录。

Though it's been cooler than average in the central part of the United States, areas of the west have seen sweltering heat waves and that can make wildfires worse. In the state's hot dry conditions, lightning strikes have been blamed for causing many of the wildfires, but a party where a type of firework was set off is responsible for one of the recent ones. In addition to the round the clock efforts of the firefighters, the state of emergency declaration will speed up help and money to the residents who've been affected.

虽然加州的气温比美国中部地区的平均气温要低，但西部地区已经出现酷热难耐的热浪，而这会加剧火势。在加州炎热干燥的情况下，雷击被认为是引发多起山火的罪魁祸首，但最近一起山火由派对上燃放烟花而引起。除了消防员在昼夜不停的努力，紧急状态声明将使受灾居民获得帮助和资金援助的进程加快。