WASHINGTON: A heat wave gripped large swaths of the Western US on Saturday as temperatures hovered near record highs, heightening wildfire risks in areas that already are dry or burning and prompting warnings for people to stay inside. A ridge of high pressure is holding heat close to the ground — what’s known as a heat dome — from Arizona to Montana, though the good news is that it will be relatively short-lived, National Weather Service meteorologists said.

An unusually strong heat dome will scorch much of the western United States this weekend, bringing the hottest temperatures so far this year to tens of millions from California to…

The latest in a series of dangerous extreme-heat domes in the United States this year will peak over the southwestern region this weekend