A series of massive fires in northern and central California sent  plumes of smoke over the San Francisco area and dangerously affecting air quality while forcing more evacuations on Thursday, reported AFP.

The blazes are feeding off a gruelling heat wave that is afflicting the state. Evacuation orders were expanded in several counties overnight after the rapidly spreading flames devoured homes, forced the shutdown of roads and heavily damaged California’s oldest state park.

According to local authorities, the fires had almost consumed 350,000 acres in the central and northern part of the state, including in the wine regions of Sonoma and Napa, which are still recovering from deadly, devastating fires in recent years. 

Governor Gavin Newsom who had earlier declared a state of emergency to free up funds to battle the fires in a tweet said, “2020 has thrown a lot at us. A pandemic. Lightning strikes. Record heatwaves. Fires. But if there’s one thing I know about CA it’s that we are resilient.” 

Multiple balzes of the group of fires known as LNU Lightning complex had begun to merge together to create a massive inferno.

According to fire officials, the wildfires have already destroyed 105 homes and structures and is threatening more than 30,000 other buildings. Cal Fire unit chief Shana Jones told AFP, “This is a very large fire. It’s one of many in the state of California and honestly our resources are stretched very far. So please be patient.”

Two people taking part in the firefighting efforts have died. One was a helicopter pilot who was killed in a crash in Fresno County, southeast of San Francisco, as he was attempting to drop water. The second was an employee of the utility company Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) who was clearing poles and electrical lines in Solano County and was found unresponsive in his vehicle Wednesday. 

In Santa Cruz County near the coast, a series of fires called the CZU Lightning Complex caused extensive damage to California’s oldest state park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, known for its majestic redwoods that are up to 2,000 years old. 

According to authorities, the fires were caused by nearly 11,000 lightning strikes that hit the northern part of the state as it endures a heat wave with historic high temperatures, including a record of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius) in Death Valley.