Each year, California is struck with a wave of wildfires that challenge the state's firefighters to no end. This year is no different -- except that the recent spate of wildfires is "the most destructive on record," as noted by The Christian Science Monitor.
Monday saw hundreds of firefighters battling huge wildfires that "have forced hundreds of people to flee, destroyed dozens of homes and structures and charred thousands of acres of forest land left bone dry by the state's record drought," according to the publication.
USA Today reported that about 100 structures have been destroyed and that firefighters are currently dealing with a total of 11 major fires in California alone.
"In addition to destroying homes and forests, the wildfires have been spewing unhealthy smoke into the air, prompting air-quality alerts in portions of the state sweltering under high temperatures and low humidity," the site said. "An evacuation center was set up at the county fairgrounds in Yreka, and a section of Interstate 5 was shut down for a time because of the fire."
The wildfires started raging several days ago, with the latest one being the fire in Siskyou County's town of Weed, which is about 10 miles away from Mount Shasta. The fire ignited just Monday afternoon. Cal Fire's Daniel Berlant reported that no less than 300 acres had been burned within just a couple of hours.
"Historically, September and October are the months we experience our most damaging wildfires. Fall is the peak for us. Temperatures start to go down ... but we start to see winds pick up and conditions are at their driest," Berlant said.
The Happy Camp Complex fire, the Golden State's largest wildfire, has torched no less than 111,000 acres so far, while the Courtney Fire, described as the "most destructive" of the 11 wildfires, had burned through 320 acres east of Yosemite after igniting on Sunday.
"Roughly 1,000 Madera County residents were ordered to evacuate as one blaze, dubbed the Courtney Fire, charred some 320 acres (129.5 hectares)," Reuters said. "A total of 400 firefighters were called in to battle the flames, which had destroyed at least 10 buildings."
Meanwhile, 800 firefighters have been trying to contain a 2,500-acre blaze, dubbed the King Fire, in El Dorado County. Further, no less than 1,000 firefighters and 9 helicopters were called in to work round the clock on the Silverado Fire, which started raging Friday morning.
Check out this map to know where the rest of the other wildfires are currently raging in California.
The state's wildfire season runs from May to October, which means that these recent rash of blazes may not be the last ones for this year.
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