Firefighters held the line against hundreds of wildfires blazing across California on Thursday but were facing another day of toil amid a ferocious heatwave, officials said.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) said 702,394 acres (284,248 hectares) had been consumed by flames since June 20, when lightning from thunderstorms triggered a series of infernos.
A total of 322 fires continued to burn across California, CALFIRE figures showed, down from a peak of nearly 1,800.
Although the series of fires make the current crisis the largest in Californian history, so far there have been no direct fatalities and only 99 homes have been destroyed.
Wildfires in California in October left eight people dead, razed 2,000 homes and caused two billion dollars in damage.
The fires have forced the evacuation of several thousand residents however, with more than 14,000 people ordered to leave the northern California town of Paradise, 90 miles (144 kilometers) north of Sacramento.
Hundreds more residents of Paradise were ordered to evacuate on Thursday, officials said.
The 49,000-acre fire threatening the town was 45 percent contained early Thursday. CALFIRE information officer Tobie Edmonds told AFP crews had made progress against the flames after a lull in winds overnight.
"All the lines are being held so far, but the evacuation orders remain in place," Edmonds said. "The winds in the region are unpredictable. It worked to our advantage last night but it could change quickly."
Edmonds said temperatures on the frontline of the blaze had reached 108 degrees on Wednesday and more ferocious weather was expected later Thursday.
"The heat has made the working environment extremely challenging," he said.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made a fresh request to President George W. Bush on Thursday for more federal resources in the shape of extra firefighters and air-tankers to be diverted to the state.
"California is in the midst of battling unprecedented wildfires that have stretched our state's firefighting resources to their limit and placed thousands of Californians in immediate danger," Schwarzenegger said.
Two of the other fires commanding attention are burning near Santa Barbara, 103 miles (165 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, and near Big Sur, a popular coastal tourist haven 120 miles (193 kilometers) south of San Francisco.
The Big Sur blaze was 41 percent contained early Thursday, up 14 percent from a day earlier, while the fire near Santa Barbara remained at 55 percent containment.
The fires near Big Sur have forced the evacuation of homes, luxury hotels as well as a remote monastery. Monks evacuated from the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center on Monday, according to the center's website, as flames approached its rugged mountain location.
