AS IT IS 2016-08-27 Dozens of Wildfires Burn US West

AS IT IS 2016-08-27 Dozens of Wildfires Burn US West

Fires in the western United States have burned thousands of hectares of land. The fires have forced people to leave their homes in California and in the state of Washington.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported 32 fires in the western states. Seven new fires were reported by the middle of the week. Hot, dry winds this week have helped spread the fires.

The area around the city of Spokane, Washington is the center of firefighting efforts. Firefighter reinforcements have arrived in the area. Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency in 20 counties in Washington.

The governor linked the latest fires to climate change and dead trees in the area’s forests.

Firefighters in California's San Luis Obispo County have controlled a part of the 15,000-hectare fire. That fire is burning in Central California. It was threatening the historic¹ Hearst Castle. The castle was home to William Randolph Hearst, a famous American newspaper publisher in the first half of the Twentieth Century.

By Tuesday, officials said the castle was no longer in danger from the fire. A shift in the wind pushed the blaze² away from the castle.

Investigators³ in Southern California searched for the cause of a huge fire in San Bernardino County. That fire burned for about one week. The blaze destroyed more than 100 homes and 200 buildings.

Officials said the so-called Blue Cut fire was under control Tuesday.

Small fires burned in two popular national parks in Wyoming. One fire closed a main road at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Another fire stopped traffic on a 20-kilometer area of a road in Grand Teton National Park. At Grand Teton, people were asked to leave at least one campground because of the threat of fire.

Words in This Story

firefighting – n. stopping and putting out fires

counties – n. areas of a state or country that include several towns and cities

blaze – n. an intense and dangerous fire

campground – n. a place cleared in the forest for people to put up a tent or park a camper

1 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

2 blaze   

n.火焰，火堆，火光，火灾；vi.燃烧，着火

参考例句：

• In a blaze of anger he shouted at them.他怒火中烧，对着他们大吼起来。
• Dry wood makes a good blaze.干木燃起夺目的光焰。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》