Among the most devastating blazes thus far have been those in Canada and California.  

In the former, wildfires that decimated the town of Jasper and a surrounding national park remained “out of control,” according to Parks Canada. In the latter, blazes dotted a statewide fire map from north to south.  

Northern California’s Park Fire, which has scorched 389,791 acres in four counties, was only 18 percent contained on Wednesday, according to Cal Fire. The blaze began a week ago, after an arson suspect reportedly pushed a burning car into a gully.  

On the other end of the Golden State, in the southern Central Valley, a series of conflagrations known as the “2024 SWF Lightning Complex” likewise showed little signs of abatement.  

The biggest of those blazes is the Borel Fire, which has already torn through more than 57,306 acres and is only 17 percent contained, per Cal Fire.  

Wreaking immense havoc in its path, the Borel Fire destroyed Kern County’s historic mining town of Havilah, where gold deposits were first discovered in the 1860s.  

“This devastating fire and the many like it we’re facing across the West are a clear and present danger to our way of life and California as we know it,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) stated following a Tuesday tour of Havilah’s charred remains. 

The same day, Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency — easing resident access to unemployment, waiving document replacement fees and loosening hospital regulations. 

Over the weekend, the Golden State also secured federal assistance for the Borel Fire, as well as for several others, including the northern Park Fire. 

As Californians continue to contend with fierce fire events in their state, so, too, are many other residents of Western North America. 

Three blazes were burning in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain foothills on Wednesday, causing one fatality and leading to many evacuations, The Colorado Sun reported.  

Flames were likewise festering in Oregon, where the Durkee Fire had grown to about 293,882 acres and was only 52 percent contained, according to interagency fire management site InciWeb. 

Dozens of blazes were also burning across the U.S. West — including in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Washington, per InciWeb. 

Welcome to The Hill’s Sustainability newsletter, I’m Sharon Udasin — every week we follow the latest moves in the growing battle over sustainability in the U.S. and around the world.

A sizable percentage of U.S. cocoa products sampled by researchers contained troubling quantities of heavy metals, a new study has found. 

Cocoa contamination: Analyzing 72 cocoa and dark chocolate products, scientists discovered that lead levels in 43 percent of these items exceeded accepted safety thresholds.  

• The same could be said in 35 percent of the products regarding cadmium concentrations.
• The researchers published their results on Wednesday, in Frontiers in Nutrition. 

A hefty bar for heavy metals: The authors relied on California’s “maximum allowable dose levels” as the threshold for acceptable heavy metal concentrations.  

• Those levels were established through Proposition 65, a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other harms.
• Prop 65 thresholds are more stringent than those proposed by the federal government.  

Organic isn’t exempt: The authors evaluated 72 cocoa products, including dark chocolate, every other year over an eight-year period.  

• They checked these items for lead, cadmium and arsenic — all of which can pose health hazards in certain amounts.
• None of the products surpassed maximum allowable dose levels for arsenic.
• The scientists were surprised to learn that organic-labeled items had higher levels of lead and cadmium in comparison to non-organic products.  

Moderation is key: For the average American, consuming one serving of such cocoa products would not likely pose a significant health threat, the scientists noted.  

• But eating multiple servings of either these products or in combination with others that contain heavy metals could be riskier.
• “It’s important to indulge with moderation,” senior author Leigh Frame, associate professor of clinical research at the George Washington School of Medicine, said in a statement. 

Consume with caution: Chocolate lovers should adhere to the same approach that applies to “other foods that contain heavy metals including large fish like tuna and unwashed brown rice,” according to Frame.  

“While it’s not practical to avoid heavy metals in your food entirely, you must be cautious of what you are eating and how much,” she added.