The emergency was announced in Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, according to a late Sunday declaration.
The move was prompted by a massive Creek Fire, which consumed over 18,000 hectares over the weekend, cutting off roads and forcing evacuations in Fresno. Despite some 15,000 firefighters battling the blaze, it was still raging virtually uncontained by Sunday afternoon, RT reported.
More than 200 people were completely cut off from evacuation routes and had to be airlifted to safety by a California National Guard helicopter. Some 20 of them suffered injuries and were taken to hospitals.
Besides the Creek Fire, at least two major blazes are raging across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. One of them was caused by negligence at “a gender reveal party,” triggered by some smoke generating pyrotechnic device.
Amid an unprecedented heatwave, temperatures hit a record 49 degrees Celsius (121 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday in Los Angeles County, according to the National Weather Service, as electricity grid operators warned customers of potential rotating outages and urged them to conserve power.