Fires Rage On in Northern, Central California

With an assist from firefighters from Southern California, Nevada and Oregon, firefighters in Northern and Central California continue to battle numerous blazes that originated from thousands of lightning strikes.

While the number of buildings destroyed has been limited, hundreds of residents have been forced to evacuate their homes.

Residents were ordered to evacuate in an area of Monterey County on Wednesday due to a huge blaze that began prior the lightning hits.

To date, more than 800 wildfires have burned across Northern California in just the last week alone.

The largest fire to date is a 90-square-mile, 58,000-acre fire burning in a remote region of the Los Padres National Forest in southern Monterey County. That fire started two weeks ago.

Smoke from the fires has darkened skies in the San Francisco Bay area and Central Valley. As a result, public health officials have issued air-quality warnings for those regions of the state.