High pressure brings high heat to Western US

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Strong high pressure is baking much of the West in high heat, and forecasters expect the siege to last into the Labor Day weekend and likely beyond.

In northwestern Nevada desert, where thousands have gathered for the Burning Man festival, weekend temperatures are expected to top 100.

A crazy-quilt of excessive-heat warnings, watches and advisories along with warnings of high fire danger and air quality alerts due to smoke from wildfires blanketed the region Wednesday from Southern California to Washington state and as far east as Montana.

In California, inland temperatures backed off just a notch as utility crews worked to restore power to thousands after extreme heat Tuesday caused electrical distribution equipment to fail.

Utilities are continuing to ask customers to reduce power usage, especially during the late afternoon and evening hours.