Fires burning in the drought-plagued state had charred tens of thousands of acres by Sunday. The fires prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency.
A large plume of smoke rises from the Rocky Fire Saturday near Clearlake, California.
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A firefighter battles a spot fire at the Rocky Fire Thursday.
Max Whittaker / Reuters
In Northern California alone, 9,000 firefighters were battling 23 large fires Saturday, the Associated Press reported. Many of the fires were sparked by lightning.
In spite of their efforts, weather conditions over Saturday night sparked dramatic increases in the acreage of several fires.
Cal Fire Division Chief Nick Schuler told the AP the fires were especially bad due to the drought.
"The conditions and fire behavior we're seeing at 10 in the morning is typically what we'd see in late afternoon in late August and September," Schuler said. "But because of the dry conditions, because of the drought-stricken vegetation accompanied by the steep terrain and winds, we're seeing fire activity that's abnormal for this time of year."
SOURCE: BuzzFeed
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