A heat wave kept temperatures sizzling across the US West Thursday with temperatures above 40 degrees in much of the country and a record temperature of 46 degrees reported for Las Vegas, according to dpa. Similar temperatures were also prevalent in large areas of southern California, where the mercury crossed the 50 degree mark Wednesday in the appropriately-named Death Valley. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the opening of state cooling centers in 13 counties, and the operator of the statewide power grid asked Californians to try to conserve energy to avoid brownouts. The high temperatures, which follow an extremely dry winter, have raised the danger of wildfires, with the moisture in trees and other vegetation at levels usually only seen in the hottest days at the end of August. Last month almost 300 homes burned near Lake Tahoe in the first serious blaze of the summer.
