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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
We're getting you caught up today on something that's caused catastrophic damage on parts of California, wildfires. Firefighters are currently battling at least 10 of them across the state. That includes the Mendocino Complex Fire, the largest wildfire in California's history.
今天我们来关注给加州部分地区造成灾难性破坏的野火。消防员正在对抗该州发生的至少10起野火。其中包括加州史上规模最大的野火——门多西诺复合野火。
Wildfires are usually named for the location or landmark1 near where they start and the California Department of Forestry2 and Fire Protections says the Mendocino Complex Fire which started on July 27th could take until September to get contained. That doesn't mean it will be out by then, but that it's likely to be cut off, prevented from spreading further.
野火通常以发生地附近的地点或地标命名，加州林业与防火局表示，从7月27日开始燃烧的门多西诺复合野火可能要到9月才能得到控制。但是这并不意味着这场野火到时会完全扑灭，不过很可能会被隔离，避免进一步蔓延。
This fire alone has burned more than 302,000 acres in Northern California. In area, it's larger than the city of Los Angeles. And it's not the only one. The Carr Fire is another blaze that's scorching3 the northern part of the state. Parts of Yosemite National Park in Central California have been shut down by the Ferguson Fire. And the Holy Fire, which started at Holy Jim Canyon4 last week has forced evacuations in Southern California.
仅这场火灾就烧毁了北加州超过30.2万英亩的土地。这一面积比洛杉矶市还大。而且不仅只有这一场火灾。卡尔大火是另一场烧焦加州北部地区的大火。加州中部的约塞米蒂国家公园因弗格森大火而关闭。上周圣吉米峡谷发生的Holy Fire导致南加州被迫疏散。
These disasters are stretching across the state. Officials don't know yet what caused all of them, some of them blamed on arson5. What is known is that tens of thousands of people have had to flee their homes, several school districts have had to cancel classes, and dry conditions and hot temperatures have combined forces to fuel the flames.
这些灾难正在整个加州蔓延。目前官员还未弄清所有火灾的原因，他们认为部分火灾为人为纵火。目前已有上万名居民被迫离开家园，多个学区不得不停课，干燥条件和炎热天气的联合作用进一步助长了火势。
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wildfires happened every year. This is nothing new. But what is new and very troubling is the fact that fire season is lasting6 longer and burning more acres.
CNN气象学家艾莉森·辛查尔：野火每年都会发生。这并不是新鲜事。但是与此前不同而且令人极为不安的是，火灾多发季节持续的时间越来越长，而且烧毁的面积也越来越大。
The Forest Service even estimates that fire seasons are now 78 days longer on average than they were back in 1970. The U.S. burns twice as many acres as it did three decades ago and Forest Service scientists believe the acreage burn may double again by mid-century. This is a devastating7 trend and many factors have come together to create a perfect storm.
美国林务署甚至估计，平均来说，现在火灾季的时间比上世纪70年代多了78天。现在火灾烧毁的面积是三年前的两倍，林务署的科学家认为，到本世纪中叶，火灾烧毁的面积可能会再次翻倍。这是毁灭性的趋势，而且许多因素的共同作用创造了一场“完美风暴”。
One, more and more people have moved out west and houses are being built in fire hazard zones.
其一，向西迁徙的人越来越多，房屋开始建在存在火灾隐患的地区。
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't realize how much my home means to me.
身份不明的女性：我以前没有意识到我的房子对我来说有多重要。
CHINCHAR: Engineering has allowed for people to build in beautiful and more remote wildfire prone8 areas. And people have added more vegetation, better known as fuel, too close to their homes.
辛查尔：人们可以在风景优美、更偏远也易发生野火的地区建造房屋。人们在过于靠近房屋的地方种植了更多的植物，而众所周知植物会加剧火势。
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't think right because everything is burned down to the ground.
身份不明的男性：我不知道应该做什么。我现在无法思考，因为一切都被烧毁了。
CHINCHAR: Two, the wildfires are creating their own weather, making them more erratic9, explosive and more difficult to predict. For example, the Carr Fire in July of 2018 had such intense heat inside those flames that it created pyrocumulus clouds. These look and act just like thunderstorms, producing lightning and powerful winds in different directions. Not only spreading the fire to additional locations, but also triggering brand new fires.
辛查尔：其二，野火正在建立自己的气候，使其更变化无常、更具爆发力、更难以预测。举例来说，7月28日发生的卡尔大火，其火焰温度极高，以致产生了火积云。这些看起来很像在不同方向产生闪电和强风的雷暴。这种情况导致火灾不仅向更多地方蔓延，而且还会引发新的火灾。
AZUZ: Another factor, California had a lot of rain last year. That caused what some called a super bloom of vegetation, which in turn could help wildfires spread. There are some debate about whether climate change plays a part in this. Many scientists suspect it does.
阿祖兹：另外，加州去年雨水很多。这带来了一些人称为的“植物的异常繁茂”，继而助长了野火的蔓延。至于气候变化是否在火灾中发挥了作用这一问题，目前存在一些争论。许多科学家认为气候变化有一定的影响。
And Michael Mohler, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, blames climate change for the current wildfires. He says there's no other way to explain the explosive fuel conditions that come with increased winds and higher temperatures.
加州林业与防火局发言人迈克尔·莫赫勒将现在燃烧的野火归咎于气候变化。他说，除此之外，没有其他原因能解释强风和高温带来的易爆易燃条件。
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says the wildfires have nothing to do with climate change, but instead with forest management, that California should do more to get rid of the dead and dying trees from the state's forest before they become wildfire fuel. Regardless of the causes, if places like these continue in the years ahead, fire officials say they'll cost California billions of dollars more to deal with.
美国内政部长莱恩·辛克表示，野火与气候变化没有任何关系，而是森林管理存在问题，加州应该采取更多措施，在该州森林中的枯树和濒死树木成为野火的助燃剂之前清除这些树木。消防官员表示，无论起火原因是什么，如果这些地区在未来几年继续这种情况，那他们将使加州耗费数十亿美元来应对灾难。
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1
landmark
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| n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标 | |
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forestry
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| n.森林学；林业 | |
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3
scorching
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| adj. 灼热的 | |
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canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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arson
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| n.纵火，放火 | |
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6
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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7
devastating
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| adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的 | |
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8
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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9
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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