Wildfires Race Through Dry, Windy California | PHOTOS
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Members Of The Laguna Hotshots, Out Of The Cleveland National Forest, Walk On A Road While Fighting The Creek Fire, Sunday, Sept. 6,
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A Plume Rises From The Bear Fire As It Burns Along Lake Oroville On Wednesday, Sept.
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Under Darkened Skies From Wildfire Smoke, A Jogger Makes His Way Along McCovey Cove Outside Oracle Park On Wednesday
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Under Darkened Skies From Wildfire Smoke, A Man Crosses Hyde Street With Alcatraz Island And Fisherman’s Wharf In The Background Wednesday, Sept. 9
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A Scorched Car Rests In A Clearing Following The Bear Fire In Butte County, Calif
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Jason Anderson, 42, Takes Pictures As The Sun Is Visible Through Thick Smoke Generated By The Bobcat Fire In San Dimas, Calif
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Flames Shoot From A Home As The Bear Fire Burns Through The Berry Creek Area Of Butte County, Calif.,
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Smoke From California Wildfires Colors The Air Above Oracle Park As The San Francisco Giants Play The Seattle Mariners
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In This Image Taken With A Slow Shutter Speed, Embers Light Up A Hillside Behind The Bidwell Bar Bridge As The Bear Fire Burns In Oroville, Calif
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The Creek Fire Burns Along A Hillside In The Cascadel Woods Community Of Madera County, Calif.
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In This Photo Provided By Frederic Larson, The Golden Gate Bridge Is Seen At 11 A.m. PT, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020
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A Family From Ventura County Watches, From The Shore Of Shaver Lake, The Billowing Smoke From The Creek Fire
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Smoke From The Creek Fire Fills The Air Over A Boating Dock, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020
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A Firefighter Battles The Creek Fire As It Threatens Homes In The Cascadel Woods Neighborhood Of Madera County, Calif
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A Helicopter Prepares To Drop Water At A Wildfire In Yucaipa, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020
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Smoke From The Creek Fire Billows Beyond A Ridge As Seen From Huntington Lake On Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, At Huntington Lake, Calif.
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An Air Tanker Drops Retardant At A Wildfire Burns At A Hillside In Yucaipa, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020
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Jeremy Hedrick Holds His Son Jeep As Smoke From The Creek Fire Fills The Air In A Marina, Were Campers Were Being Held Due To Impassable Roads, Caused By The Fire Monday, Sept. 7, 2020
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Flames Lick Above Vehicles On Highway 162 As The Bear Fire Burns In Oroville, Calif.
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Members Of Firefighters Walk In Line During A Wildfire In Yucaipa, Calif
Over the last month, California wildfires have chased thousands of families from their homes, destroyed more than 3,600 buildings, blackened huge expanses of land and killed 12 people.
In all, more than two dozen major fires are burning around the state, some of them among the largest in recent California history.
Feeding off strong winds and dry brush, the fast-growing blazes have chewed through old-growth redwoods and chaparral and forced evacuations in wine country north of San Francisco and along the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Photos from The Associated Press show the flames exploding from trees and bushes, reaching out to lick vehicles, firefighters and homes. Drifting smoke chokes much of the state and fills the sky with an eerie orange glow.
In parts of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento Valley, the smoke blocked out so much sunlight that the temperature dropped by 20 to 30 degrees Wednesday over the previous day, according to the National Weather Service.
Wildfires are also burning in Oregon and Washington state.