No relief as heat wave in US moves east

• Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission
• he spoke with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.
• Highs in the upper 90s Fahrenheit (mid 30s Celsius) will begin to spread eastward into the Great Lakes region on Tuesday.

Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission, said he spoke with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, who indicated Vilnius was enforcing EU penalties.

“Clearly, we need to gather all facts and ramifications,” Dombrovskis added, “but as President Nauseda explained, what Lithuania is doing is imposing EU sanctions.”

“So, in this case, if the EU sanctions are being applied, it’s clear that we need to be alongside our member states as they impose the sanctions.”

Highs in the upper 90s Fahrenheit (mid 30s Celsius) will begin to spread eastward into the Great Lakes region on Tuesday, which is up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above usual.

Last week, a heat wave ravaged the Upper Midwest and Southeast, putting almost 120 million people under some form of warning.

This was caused by a dome of high pressure, which erupted with wild weather like thunderstorms, flash flooding, and heavy rainfall at its boundaries, according to forecasts.

Yellowstone National Park, the country’s oldest, was forced to close last week due to massive flood damage and washed-away roads.

In only a few days, torrential rain and snowmelt dumped months’ worth of run-off into waterways. The park is huge.

Meanwhile, officials said a fire was blazing in the Wharton State Forest in the northeastern state of New Jersey.

The fire, which started on Sunday, had burnt 7,200 acres (2,900 hectares) by Monday and was 45 percent contained, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

There were 18 structures threatened, but no injuries were reported, according to the report.

Wildfires are common in the western United States during the summer but are unusual in the east of the country.