A firefighter has died as fires in forests and woodlands across California burned two dozen homes and forced thousands of people to flee.
Twenty-one large fires, many sparked by lightning strikes, were burning across Northern California on Saturday, said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
About 8,000 firefighters were working to subdue the fires, something made incredibly difficult by several years of drought that have dried out California.
The fires prompted Governor Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency for California and activate the California National Guard to help with disaster recovery.
Berlant said the danger was expected to continue through the weekend, with more thunderstorms expected.
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Engine Captain David Ruhl, from South Dakota, was killed battling a fast-moving blaze that broke out Thursday in the Modoc National Forest about 160 kilometres south of Oregon.
Ruhl was in a vehicle looking for ways to fight the blaze, when officials lost contact with him, fire information officer Ken Sandusky said.
His body was recovered Friday.
Ruhl, part of a Black Hills National Forest firefighting team, had been helping California firefighters since June.
The fire had grown to about three acres by Saturday, and it was five per cent contained.
The biggest fire was in the Lower Lake area north of San Francisco, where firefighters had to wade through thick smoke and flying embers to turn loose horses, goats and other livestock as their owners fled to safety.
The fast-moving fire had burned 24 homes and 26 outbuildings by Saturday night and more than 6,000 other homes were threatened. Mandatory evacuations were expanded to include more than 12,000 people in sweeping areas of ranches and small rural communities.
