More than 9,000 firefighters, most of them reinforcements from outside California, continue to battle nearly two dozen fires. At least 13,000 have been urged to evacuate their homes, some on mandatory orders.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Berger
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'Rocky Fire' scorches California
Firefighters in the US state of California are working to contain a massive blaze that has burned through more than 60,000 acres since last week. Thousands of people have been urged to leave their homes.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Edelson
Inferno
The blaze, dubbed the "Rocky Fire," erupted in the inland area of the North Coast Ranges in California, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) north of San Francisco. It is the biggest of more than 20 wildfires currently raging across the drought-stricken state after thousands of lighting strikes hit in recent days.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Berger
'Unprecedented' speed
The blaze has scorched 62,000 acres (25,090 hectares), quadrupling in size within just a few days. On Saturday night, the fire burned through 20,000 acres in a single five-hour period. That's an "unprecedented historical rate of spread," according to Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Berger
Fighting the flames
More than 9,000 firefighters, many of them reinforcements from other states, are struggling to keep pace with the blaze. Strong winds on Monday night helped the fire jump a state highway that had served as a containment line.
Image: Getty Images/J. Sullivan
Battle on all fronts
The fight to contain the blaze is being waged on the ground and in the air. Nineteen water-dropping helicopters and four airplane tankers have been deployed to dump water and flame retardant in an effort to stop the fire from growing.
Image: Getty Images/J. Sullivan
Safer ground
More than 13,000 people have been urged to leave their homes for evacuation centers. Here, residents of Spring Valley, a community under mandatory evacuation orders, watch on as the "Rocky Fire" advances near the community of Clearlake Oaks.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Berger
Path of destruction
More than 50 buildings have been destroyed by the fire so far, and thousands more are under threat. Clear Lake resident Wayne Fischer stands amid the rubble of his home, which was burned to the ground.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Edelson
Dangerous conditions
According to state figures, 121,000 acres (49,000 hectares) of land has been burned by fires so far in 2015. Although wildfires aren't uncommon in California, this year has been particularly bad due to extremely dry conditions caused by a four-year drought.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Edelson
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California's Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CALFIRE) reported late Monday that "well over 9,000 firefighters" were battling 21 active fires across the western state.
"There are 21 active fires across California, well over 9,000 firefighters battling them. Thousands of lightning strikes have occurred since last week, sparking several hundred small wildfires," CALFIRE said in a statement.
Authorities urged more than 13,000 people to evacuate their homes - some with mandatory orders - as the blazes raged on in drought-stricken California.
'Rocky Fire'
The "Rocky Fire" has been the most difficult to contain, burning through 101 square miles (261 square kilometers) of land, while destroying 50 buildings in the process, half of which were homes.
At least a third of the firefighters deployed across the state are working to contain "Rocky Fire."
"It's the Rocky Fire that continues to really be a fast-moving fire that definitely continues to challenge us today," CALFIRE spokesperson Daniel Berlant told American broadcaster CNN.
"Over the weekend, 20,000 acres burned in just about a five-hour period. That's an unprecedented historical rate of spread," Berlant said.
At least one firefighter has been killed by the blazes, which erupted Wednesday.
Historic drought
California's four-year-long drought has caused major issues for the western state's population.
In May, California Governor Jerry Brown ordered residents to cut water consumption by at least 25 percent, impacting farmers in the process.
Cool weathers are expected to dampen the blazes, although Berlant issued a warning on Monday night that lightning strikes may continue to produce "single fire 'complexes.'"
