Tropical Storm Lee caused floods along the Gulf Coast earlier this week, but in Texas the storm's high winds ignited over 180 fires last week, leaving more than 1,000 homes in ruins. It is now the single worst wildfire in the state's history, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry has returned from the campaign trail to manage the response.

Firefighters across the southwestern United States are facing some of the season's worst weather, as crews battle record blazes. The National Weather Service is warning that the hot temperatures, humidity and wind gusts as high as 60 mph pose an extreme fire risk. The largest fire began more than three weeks ago in Arizona and has burned into western New Mexico, destroying more than thirty homes and half a million acres. Michel Marizco,a reporter with our partner station in Arizona, KJZZ, speaks with us.

The Wallow Fire in Arizona has forced thousands of residents to flee their homes. Firefighters have thus far been unable to control the blaze, which has been raging across the state for nearly two weeks, and now has spread over 600 square miles and is nearing the New Mexico border. The fire is now threatening the region's electrical grid, which could affect the power supply as far as Texas.

A recent heat wave in Russia coupled with extraordinarily dry conditions has been feeding the most widespread wildfires in the nation’s recent history. The fires stretch from central Russia to near Moscow and are generating a devastating plume of smoke that has killed 52 people and destroyed over 2,000 homes. Those massive fires are having a secondary (and potentially more lasting) effect as they have threatened the Russian wheat crops, which make up about eight percent of the world’s wheat production.