カリフォルニア州の大規模な山火事が, 常に暑く乾燥した天候で木材を食い尽くしました。
CHICO, Calif. (AP) -- California's largest wildfire so far this year continued to grow Thursday as it chewed through timber in very hot and dry weather. The Park Fire has scorched more than 660 square miles (1,709 square kilometers) since erupting July 24 near the Sacramento Valley city of Chico and burning northward up the western flank of the Sierra Nevada. Containment remained at 34%, Cal Fire said. The conflagration's early explosive growth quickly made it California's fourth-largest wildfire on record before favorable weather reduced its intensity late last week. It reawakened this week due to the heat and very low relative humidity levels. A large portion of the burned area was in mop-up stage but spot fires were a continuing problem, officials said during Thursday morning's operational briefing.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240809/p2g/00m/0in/041000c
今回取り上げるのは, mop-up です。
LDOCE では "1 to remove liquid with a mop, a cloth, or something soft, especially in order to clean a surface", "2 to remove or deal with something which you think is undesirable or dangerous, so that it is no longer a problem" と定義されていました。
Cambridge Dictionary では "to finish the last part of a job after most of it has been completed", "to finish dealing with something" と定義されていました。
以上のことから, 本文の "mop-up stage" の意味は「取り除く段階」つまり「消火段階」と考えられます。
Online Etymology Dictionary には "rub or wipe with or as with a mop," 1709 (in mop up), from mop (n.). Related: Mopped; mopping." との記載してあります。
単語と関連付けて意味が想像しやすい単語に出会えました。(Lily)
https://ameblo.jp/jyoji8/entry-12560360292.html
https://ameblo.jp/jyoji8/entry-12736627049.html
https://a30.hatenablog.com/entry/20130906/1378394281
https://a30.hatenablog.com/entry/20120124/1327375853