美国有线新闻 CNN 美国加州山火持续肆虐 电力公司切断供电（在线收听）

Well, Cleveland and much of the U.S. are feeling cooler weather this week. The forecast for the American west is hot, dry and windy. And that's bad news for a region struggling with wildfires. Drought conditions have spread over 70 percent over the U.S. West. That makes the vegetation on the ground right for spreading potential fires.

本周，克里夫兰市和美国大部分地区都是凉爽天气。但天气预报显示，美国西部地区天气炎热、干燥且多风。这对于努力应对山火的地区来说是个二消息。美国西部70%的地区都遭遇了干旱。这使得地面上的植被成为传播潜在火灾的导火索。

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the United States has seen an average of 46,700 fires each year over the past decade. This year, the nation has seen more than 44,000 fires so far. Each year, an average of 6 million acres have burned in wildfires across the country. This year, more than 7 million acres have already been lost. And there are still three more months to go in 2020.

根据美国国家跨机构消防中心提供的数据，过去十年，美国平均每年发生46700起火灾。今年到目前为止，美国已经发生了超过4.4万起火灾。每年，美国平均有600万英亩土地被烧毁。而今年已经损失了700多万英亩土地。现在距离2020年结束还有三个多月的时间。

In California where there have been more than 8,100 fires this year, the state's largest utility company has intentionally shut off power to try to prevent more wildfires. Electrical equipment can spark and ignite new blazes. There were 65,000 shutoffs planned early this week. Pacific Gas and Electric wanted to wait until high winds had passed and make sure no power lines were blown over or damaged before restoring electricity through them.

加利福尼亚州今年发生了8100多起火灾，该州最大的公用事业公司有意关闭了电源，以防止更多山火发生。电气设备会点燃新的火花。本周早些时候，该公司计划关闭6.5万户家庭的电源。太平洋天然气和电力公司希望，等到强风过后，确保没有电线被吹翻或损坏时，再让电线恢复供电。

The National Weather Service expects that hot, dry weather could settle over the American west for one or two weeks. The Northeastern U.S. has also been suffering from drought conditions this year. Some of the rivers in that region are very low. The good news is, that unlike the West, rain is in the forecast for the Northeast. That could help states like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine with their water resources.

美国国家气象局预计，炎热干燥的天气可能会在美国西部持续一到两周的时间。美国东北部地区今年也遭遇了旱情。该地区的一些河流水位很低。不过好消息是，与西部地区不同，天气预报显示东北部地区将迎来降雨。这将帮助马萨诸塞州、罗德岛州、康涅狄格州和缅因州补充水资源。