Fire, Heat Threaten Parts of US From North Dakota to California

Fire and heat risks persist across parts of the western U.S. from North Dakota to California.

There are red flag fire warnings in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, plus North and South Dakota. There is also a fire weather watch up across most of northern and eastern Nevada. Those risks are heightened by sustained winds of up to 25 miles (40 kilometers) per hour, with gusts up to 45 miles per hour possible.

The heat is still searing California, as well as parts of Nevada and Arizona. There is a heat advisory up for San Francisco, while temperatures in Stockton, just to the east, will climb as high as 98F (37C).

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To the south, extreme heat warnings will last for another day in Los Angeles, where the daytime high is forecast to reach 96F and with humidity feel closer to 108F, the National Weather Service said. The searing temperatures will make it more difficult to fight a brush fire that sent smoke rising over the 405 freeway in Los Angeles and forced the nearby Getty Center to close Wednesday.

Further west in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Lowell is drifting away from Hawaii, but the threat to the island remains. There is a 30% chance another storm will form southwest of the U.S state and Tropical Storm Norbert has spun up to its east. It may take at least another week before Norbert becomes a threat.

Top photo: The Getty Fire burns as cars travel along the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles on Sept. 9. Bloomberg.