Coastal storm cools California heat wave, dampens wildfire

By AMY TAXIN
Associated Press

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Southern California welcomed cooler temperatures and spotty rain Saturday as a tropical storm veered off the Pacific Coast and faded, helping put an end to a blistering heat wave that nearly overwhelmed the state’s electrical grid. Thunderstorms were forecast for the Los Angeles region and could linger Sunday in mountainous areas. A meteorologist says after Hurricane Kay made landfall in Mexico this week, it quickly was downgraded to a tropical storm and weakened further until it largely disappeared. The moisture helped firefighters battling the massive Fairview Fire about 75 miles southeast of Los Angeles. But fire officials say the Mosquito Fire east of Sacramento has spread to nearly 53 square miles and blanketed the region in smoke.