Thousands of firefighters today battled raging wildfires across swathes of parched California that forced residents to evacuate and shut miles of highway after claiming the life of a fireman.
Some 6,000 homes were evacuated as 21 large fires burned in the bone-dry western US state, which is in the throes of a historic drought.
A total of 121,000 acres (49,000 hectares of land have burned so far, according to figures provided by the state.
Dry lightning strikes sparked most of the fires, while the causes of others remained unknown. But authorities said they did not suspect foul play.
Thousands of lightning bolts since Thursday caused hundreds of smaller fires throughout the state, but most of the blazes were concentrated in the north, California fire chiefs said.
About 9,000 firefighters backed by helicopters and air tankers were battling the blazes, CAL FIRE spokeswoman Lynnette Round told AFP, with particular concern about the raging Rocky Fire in Lake County, northwest of the capital Sacramento.
"Our firefighters have been working extensively throughout the last two weeks, working hard to contain these fires. The weather has not been so kind," Round said.
"The dry, warm windy conditions then the dry lightning hitting, it just fuels those fires."
The California governor's office said neighboring Nevada and Colorado had also committed resources to battle the blazes.
A total of 24 homes and 26 outbuildings, which included barns and sheds, were destroyed in the community of Lower Lake, home to the picturesque Mendocino National Forest.
CAL FIRE said the Rocky Fire had grown to 46,000 acres and was only five percent contained. Its cause was still under investigation, the agency said.
Stretches of Highway 20 were closed in both directions, spelling weekend travel misery for motorists.
With very hot, dry weather and erratic winds expected only to make matters worse, evacuations in the face of the Rocky Fire were expected to impact 12,190 people, CAL FIRE said.
