The state of California in the U.S. is now literally a ball of wildfires, worsened by droughts and high temperatures. The federal website U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday said 100 per cent of the state is now in one of the three worst stages of drought.
On Thursday, firefighters continued to mobilise and dispatch more air support to control the seven fires raging north of San Diego where thousands were forced to flee and evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Drought Monitor, for the first time in its 14-year history, has classified the whole state of California in a "severe drought."
Already building for the past few years, the California drought peaked this 2014. When April came in, all of the state was in a drought, where 70 per cent was in "extreme" or "exceptional" drought, the two highest stages.
"Things are not trending in the right direction," Mark Svoboda, a scientist at the National Drought Mitigation Center, told Climate Central.
In May, the situation became worse. One hundred per cent of the state now is in the three worst stages of drought. Exceptional drought, the highest stage, occurs from Los Angeles to San Francisco and inland to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
On Wednesday, seven fires broke out between San Diego and San Clemente where experts said will continue to be intensified by the heat wave that hit the state this week.
"The heat will exacerbate and accelerate the impact concerns that come with higher demand (for water) and increased fire risk during such heat waves," Svoboda said.
Daniel Berlant, a Cal Fire spokesman, said the department has already extinguished 1,400 wildfires across the state, which is more than twice the average number for this time of year alone.
"It starts with the drought," Berlant told the Los Angeles Times. "The grass, the brush and the trees -- not only in San Diego County, really across California -- are really dry."
"Fire season from 2013 rolled right into 2014 and continues with no end in sight," he added.
"It's really awful, unprecedented," CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray said. "We have never seen California this dry before. So this wildfire season could be one of the worst in history."
"A lot of these fires would be a lot more manageable and not nearly as damaging if not for the drought," Danny Richards, Hutchinson County's emergency management coordinator, said.
Greg Saska watches as his mother's home goes up in flames as fire fighters battle wildfires in Carlsbad, California May 14, 2014. REUTERS/Mike BlakeREUTERS/Mike BlakeA burning home is doused with water as firefighters battle with wildfires in Carlsbad, California May 14, 2014. More than 11,000 homes and businesses were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday and power was cut off to many residents as a wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in San Diego County, authorities said. REUTERS/Mike BlakeREUTERS/Mike BlakeFirefighters battle the so-called Poinsettia Fire in Carlsbad, California May 14, 2014. At least two structures burned to the ground and some 15,000 homes and businesses were told to evacuate on Wednesday as the wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern California coastal community. The blaze, which erupted shortly before 11 a.m. in Carlsbad, some 25 miles north of San Diego, quickly became the most pressing battle for crews fighting flames across the region amid soaring temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. REUTERS/Sam HodgsonREUTERS/Sam HodgsonA water bomber drops fire retardant to help save a home on a hillside after another wildfire near San Diego erupted near San Marcos, California May 14, 2014. More than 20 structures, including several homes, burned to the ground and thousands of people were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday, as a wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern California coastal community. The so-called Poinsettia Fire, which erupted shortly before 11 a.m. in Carlsbad, some 25 miles north of San Diego, quickly became the most pressing battle for crews fighting flames across the region amid soaring temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. REUTERS/Mike BlakeREUTERS/Mike BlakeStudents from California State University, San Marcos, put out hot spots with fire extinguishers as firefighters battle a blaze in San Marcos, California May 14, 2014. California fire crews, helped by diminished overnight winds, made substantial headway by early Wednesday against a blaze that had prompted thousands of evacuations in and around San Diego for several hours while flames were at their peak. REUTERS/Sam HodgsonREUTERS/Sam HodgsonResidents watch as firefighters battle a blaze in San Marcos, California May 14, 2014. California fire crews, helped by diminished overnight winds, made substantial headway by early Wednesday against a blaze that had prompted thousands of evacuations in and around San Diego for several hours while flames were at their peak. REUTERS/Sam HodgsonREUTERS/Sam Hodgson
