Wildfires in California have burned a record more than two million acres, the state fire department said, as an uncontrolled blaze forced many residents to flee their homes.
The record was hit as the wildfire season still has roughly two months to go in the most populous US state and as thousands of firefighters were battling flames during a scorching heatwave.
"In the past 33 years we have not seen a single year go over two million acres until this year," said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) spokeswoman Lynne Tolmachoff.
"This is definitely record-breaking and we have not even come close to the end of fire season yet."
At least seven people have died as a result of this year's fires and some 3,800 structures have been damaged or destroyed, according to Cal Fire figures.
The last time the number of acres burned got close to two million was in 2018, the same year as the devastating Camp Fire, when a little more than 1.9 million acres (769,000 hectares) went up in flames.
More than 14,100 firefighters were battling 24 different wildfires as of yesterday afternoon, the fire department said in a tweet.
Another rapidly growing fire, the Oak Fire, began on Sunday in Mendocino county and has already grown to 1,000 acres.
Cal Fire said that 83 personnel were on hand to battle the blaze, which was 0% contained.
Evacuation orders were in effect throughout southern California yesterday afternoon.
In northern California, more than 200 people were airlifted to safety over the weekend after a fast-moving wildfire trapped them near the Mammoth Pool Reservoir northeast of Fresno.
Dozens of evacuees are evacuated to safety on a Cal Guard Chinook last night after the Creek Fire in central California left them stranded. Photo courtesy California National Guard. pic.twitter.com/mi7X6wchpN
— The California National Guard (@CalGuard) September 6, 2020
They were rescued by military helicopters, with dozens packed into a Chinook, video shared by the California National Guard showed.
The West from space late this Labor Day afternoon pic.twitter.com/lWapPtclAx
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) September 8, 2020
More than 170,000 customers were left without electricity as utility company PG&E enacted a "last resort" shutoff across large swathes of the state due to the extreme wildfire threat.
Helicopters operating in hazardous smoky conditions overnight at the rapidly spreading Creek Fire near Fresno in central California have airlifted almost 300 people - including 78 on Tuesday - to safety, the California National Guard told AFP.
An unknown number remained awaiting rescue as homes were engulfed by flames in the Tollhouse area, while videos on social media showed the fire surrounding campsites around the popular holiday spot Mammoth Pool Reservoir.
The Fresno fire department tweeted late Monday that there "may be hikers and campers that were trapped in this area".
80% of town destroyed
The Creek Fire has ripped through more than 140,000 acres and was zero percent contained Tuesday morning.
Another inferno - the Bobcat Fire - threatened the fringes of greater Los Angeles.
Evacuations were in progress from the closed Angeles National Forest, just north of the city, with over 8,500 acres (3,400 hectares) on fire in the blaze that broke out Sunday.
The new fires spread rapidly over the holiday weekend, which saw a record 49 degree Celsius temperature recorded in Los Angeles county.
Moderate Santa Ana winds arriving on Tuesday were expected to strengthen through to Wednesday morning, with gusts of 88 kilometres per hour.
"Existing fires are displaying extreme fire behavior, new fire starts are likely, weather conditions are worsening, and we simply do not have enough resources to fully fight and contain every fire," said Randy Moore, regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region.
They came as overstretched firefighters were finally gaining ground on many of the lightning-caused fires in Northern California which ignited last month.
California has now seen over 2.2 million acres burn in wildfires this year - an annual record, with nearly four months of fire season still to come.
There have been 8 fatalities and more than 3,300 structures destroyed.
Parts of nearby states including Oregon and Washington were also on fire on Tuesday, with the National Weather Service warning that "a large portion of the western US will experience another day of critical to extreme fire weather conditions".
The small town of Malden in the northwestern state of Washington was nearly totally destroyed, with 80% of its buildings including the fire station, post office and city all "completely burned to the ground," the local sheriff said in a statement.
"The scale of this disaster really can't be expressed in words," said Sheriff Brett Myers.
"The fire will be extinguished but a community has been changed for a lifetime. I just hope we don't find the fire took more than homes and buildings. I pray everyone got out in time."
