The wildfire outside of Prescott, Arizona that claimed the lives of 19 firefighters still burns out of control. [Arizona Republic]
As the community grieved the loss of 19 firefighters who died Sunday fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire, the deadly blaze continued to rage out of control. As of 9:30 p.m. Monday, it had grown to 8,400 acres and remained zero percent contained. About 500 firefighters were battling the blaze, with more expected to join Tuesday.
Mother Nature did not cooperate. Adverse weather conditions forced state incident management officials to call off air support from about 5 p.m. through Monday evening. Officials feared the monsoon activity could cause erratic winds that would make the fire unpredictable and difficult to fight.
The city of Prescott on Monday also released the names of the 19 firefighters killed, a few hours after a somber caravan carried their bodies to Phoenix. All 19 men were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite firefighting team employed at the Prescott Fire Department. One other Granite Mountain firefighter was away from the group at the time.
Fourteen of the men were in their 20s.
Death Valley on Sunday reached 129 degrees, the highest June temperature ever recorded in the United States on Sunday after an update was posted on Monday. [Washington Post]
Many scientists predict a hot, dry western U.S. prone to wildfires will be the “new normal.” [New York Times]
Last week, all of New Mexico was in a drought — 93.5 percent of the state facing extreme of exceptional drought. [Albuquerque Business First]
Extreme heat is the most dangerous form of extreme weather in the U.S., with excessively hot nights posing the most threat. [Washington Post]
The death toll in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand could be anywhere between 800 and close to 10,000 following massive flooding. [Wall Street Journal]
Many Republican elected officials are seizing the opportunity to criticize Obama’s climate plan, hoping that taking a firm pro-coal and -oil stance will help their 2014 election bids. [New York Times, Star Tribune]
Washington State might soon be home to the region’s largest oil shipping terminal, and some residents aren’t happy about it. [Grist]
Headline of the day: “Oh, Canada: How America’s friendly northern neighbor became a rogue, reckless petrostate.” [Foreign Policy]
Bill McKibben will join hundreds of other activists in Alberta’s tar sands region to “pray for the healing of the land and the people.” [Guardian]
McDonald’s tried to make a joke about air pollution in an advertisement in Singapore, which did not go over well. [Daily Mail]
Two bulk oil carriers collided in Singapore, spilling 100 metric tons of fuel oil a few miles into Singapore Strait. [Bloomberg]
Major General Dana J.H. Pittard has helped cut Fort Bliss’ energy consumption 27 percent in one year, and is looking to expand the base’s renewable energy portfolio beyond the current 1 percent. [LA Times]
Over the last decade, bike commuting in America has jumped 47 percent, and 80 percent in bike-friendly communities. [Christian Science Monitor]
NASCAR has installed electric car charging stations outside its headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida. [Orlando Sentinel]
Apple will build a new solar energy farm to power its new data center in Reno, Nevada. [Reuters]
The Florida Keys look at the increasing rate of sea level rise: “”The rate’s doubled. It would be disingenuous and sloppy and irresponsible not to respond to it.” [AP]