PBS高端访谈:加州面临史上第一大火

NICK SCHIFRIN: Wildfires up and down California are still burning out of control this evening, with no relief coming anytime soon. Wary¹ crews are fighting the heat, the wind and the fires, ranging from a huge combination of blazes in the north to a new one spreading in the south. Smoke from the Holy Fire rose with the morning sun, and flames tore through dry brush of the Cleveland National Forest. The fire outside Los Angeles started late yesterday, and quickly tripled in size. By this morning, it had already scorched² 4,000 acres. This area hasn't burned in nearly four decades. Many residents were caught off-guard and didn't heed³ the original evacuation order.

TILSON SHUMATE, California: It's an incredible sensation to be in this and to be faced with life and death. Like, we think we're ready to die, but are we? I don't know, man. I don't want to go like this. Get us out of here.

NICK SCHIFRIN: In California and many Western states, fire season isn't new, but the intensity⁴ and scope of the devastation⁵ are. Hotter weather attributed to climate change drives more severe conditions that authorities say residents cannot ignore.

MIKE MOHLER, Cal Fire: It can't be white noise anymore, because this is not gonna change. It's here and we're going to have to deal with it.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Deputy director of Cal Fire, Michael Mohler, says California's wildfires are burning faster, longer and more unpredictably. August is only the middle of the fire season, and Mohler warns he expects the worst is yet to come.

MIKE MOHLER: With the conditions we're seeing right now, the weather patterns that are lining⁶ up, working with our partners from the National Weather Service, we don't see this changing anytime soon. Our firefighters, our enforcement, first-responders are preparing for, really for this to continue.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Across the state, 17 major wildfires are burning, the most devastating⁷ in the north. Overnight, the Mendocino Complex fire grew into the largest in state history, breaking a record set just eight months ago. It's incinerated more than 290,000 acres. Fire officials say they're focused on protecting some 11,000 threatened homes. Some have already been lost.

MAN: What can you say? It makes you sick to your stomach. Everything they work for all their life gone a heartbeat.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Officials admit the expanding fire season is taking a heavy toll⁸ on their resources. More than 14,000 firefighters are working in California, and the fire season is more than two months longer than it used to be. But they vow⁹ to keep fighting.

MIKE MOHLER: One of the things we say in the fire service is, not only take care of yourself, but you need to take care of your fellow partner and personnel and keep an eye on them. You have to have that downtime. But I can tell you that all first-responders are in it for the long haul. It's what we do.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And there's no end in sight. Firefighters are facing another record-breaking fire burning through Yosemite National Park. Officials today said the park will remain closed indefinitely.

尼克·希夫林：今晚，野火仍然在加利福尼亚州肆虐横行，失去控制，短期之内不会有任何缓解。机警的队员们正在与热、风和火对抗，从南方蔓延而来的新火与北方的巨大火焰汇聚到一起。来自圣火的烟雾随着朝阳一同升起，火焰经过克利夫兰国家森林之后愈演愈烈。洛杉矶郊外的火灾昨天晚些时候烧起来，而且规模迅速增加了三倍。

到今天早上，它已经烧焦了4000英亩土地。这个地区已经近四十年没有着过火了。许多居民都措手不及，并没有留意原来的撤离令。

蒂姆森·舒马特，加利福尼亚州：这是一种令人难以置信的感觉，面对生死。就像，我们认为我们已经准备好死了，但实际上呢？我不知道，伙计。我不想这样。让我们离开这里。

尼克·希夫林：在加利福尼亚和许多西方国家，火灾季节并不新鲜，而灾难的强度和范围才是。由于气候变化导致的炎热天气催生了更严峻的条件，这让当局告诉居民们，不能忽视。

迈克·莫勒，加利福尼亚州消防局：这不再是白噪声，因为这种情况不会改变。它就在这里，我们将不得不处理它。

尼克·希夫林：加利福尼亚州消防局的副主任迈克·莫勒说，加州的野火燃烧得更快，时间更长，更难以预测。8月只是火灾季节的中期，莫勒警告他预计最坏的情况还未到来。

迈克·莫勒：根据我们现在与国家气象局合作看到的情况，排列的天气模式，短期之内不会出现变化。我们的消防员，我们的执法人员，应急人员正在准备 - 真的为此继续努力。

尼克·希夫林：在全州范围内，17个主要的野火点正在燃烧，这是北方最具破坏性的。一夜之间，Mendocino Complex火灾成为该州历史上最大的火灾，打破了八个月前的纪录。它烧毁了超过290,000英亩的土地。消防官员称他们集中保护了约11,000座遭受威胁的房屋。有些人已经失踪。

男：你能说什么？它会让你生病。他们毕生为之奋斗的一切都成为心跳。

尼克·希夫林：官员们承认，不断扩大的火灾季节正在对他们的资源造成严重影响。超过14,000名消防员在加利福尼亚工作，野火季节比以前长两个多月。但他们发誓继续战斗。

迈克·莫勒：我们在消防服务中说的其中一件事就是，不仅要照顾好自己，还需要照顾好你的伙伴和人员，并密切关注他们。你必须要有休息时间。但是我可以告诉你，所有的应急人员都是长期随时待命的。这就是我们的工作。

尼克·希夫林：看来没有尽头。消防队员还要与在约塞米蒂国家公园燃烧的另一场破纪录大火斗争。官方今天表示，公园将无限期关闭。

1 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

2 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

3 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

4 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

5 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。