As the Line fire exploded, dense smoke made it difficult to breathe and heat became ‘intolerable’, but work carried on

• Life as a roofer in Florida’s sweltering heat: ‘It feels like 120F’

Uncontrolled wildfires ripped across southern California amid a startling late summer heatwave this month, shrouding the region in thick, dark smoke as temperatures climbed past 110F (43.3C).

But Cynthia Ayala, a ramp agent at one of Amazon’s largest air freight hubs, had to report to work anyway.