Dry conditions, high temperatures, and strong winds have once more spawned several large and destructive wildfires across the state of California. Thousands of firefighters are now battling multiple blazes that have burned hundreds of thousands of acres in the past few weeks, and recently claimed at least eight lives. Gathered below: a collection of images of those affected by these recent fires, and some of the dramatic scenes of destruction left in their wake.
Dramatic Photos of the California Wildfires
1. A large pyrocumulus cloud (or fire cloud) explodes upward during the Carr Fire near Redding, California, on July 27, 2018.
2. Flames from the Carr Fire burn through trees along Highway 299 on July 27, 2018, near Whiskeytown, California.
3. A helicopter drops water on a burning hillside during the Mendocino Complex fire near Finley, California, on July 30, 2018.
4. A historic schoolhouse burns as the Carr Fire tears through Shasta, California, on July 26, 2018.
5. Celia Corona rescues an injured cat in a burned residential neighborhood during the Carr Fire in Redding, California, on July 27, 2018.
6. Burned trees are reflected in Whiskeytown Lake after the Carr fire tore through the area on July 28, 2018.
7. A plane battling the Ferguson Fire passes the setting sun in unincorporated Mariposa County, California, near Yosemite National Park on July 15, 2018.
8. A structure burns as the Carr fire races along Highway 299 near Redding, California, on July 26, 2018.
9. A plane drops retardant over a property threatened by a wildfire in Lakeport, California, on July 30, 2018.
10. Rich Newell attempts to evacuate his horse ahead of the Carr Fire in Lewiston, California, on July 28, 2018.
11. Hannah Whyatt poses for a friend's photo as smoke from the Ferguson Fire fills Yosemite Valley on July 25, 2018, in Yosemite National Park. Campsites and lodges emptied out after disappointed tourists were ordered to leave the heart of Yosemite National Park by noon Wednesday, as firefighters battled to contain a huge wildfire just to the west that has threatened the park's forest and sent up smoke that obscured grand vistas of waterfalls and sheer granite faces.
12. A burned-out boat sits in a marina on Whiskeytown Lake after damage from the Carr Fire near Redding on July 30, 2018.
13. An air tanker passes behind a smoke plume while battling the River Fire in Lakeport, California, on July 30, 2018.
14. The Carr Fire burns through trees along Highway 299 on July 27, 2018, near Whiskeytown, California.
15. A firefighter monitors a burning outbuilding to ensure flames don't spread as the River Fire burns in Lakeport, California, on July 30, 2018.
16. A Volkswagen Beetle scorched by the Carr Fire sits outside a residence in Redding, California, on July 27, 2018.
17. Kambryn Brilz, 12, holds her dog, Zoe, in front of what remains of her burned home, after she was returned safely by a neighbor during the Carr Fire in Redding on July 27, 2018.
18. An eagle ornament at the top of a damaged flagpole is seen against the setting sun during the Carr Fire in Redding on July 27, 2018.
19. Smoke from the Carr Fire shrouds the Clear Creek Bridge near Igo, California, on July 29, 2018.
20. The California highway-patrol sergeant David Fawson holds a month-old fawn that was located by Cal Fire without a mother inside the Carr Fire line near Redding on July 28, 2018. Fawson evacuated the deer to safety with a wildlife rescue group.
21. A firefighter hoses down flames as a wildfire advances onto a residential district in Redding on July 28, 2018.
22. A young gray fox pants while taking cover under a side rail on the side of the road during 108-degree heat as the Carr Fire rages on near Whiskeytown, California, on July 27, 2018.
23. A view of cars that were destroyed by the Carr Fire on July 27, 2018, in Redding.
24. Mark Peterson, who lost his home in the Carr Fire, gives water to goats that survived the blaze on July 27, 2018, in Redding, California.
25. A structure burns as the Carr Fire tears through Shasta, California, on July 26, 2018.
26. A firefighter runs away from a burning structure in Finley, California, on July 30, 2018.
27. A mounted elk head drips as a Cal Fire firefighter douses a burning home during the Carr Fire in Redding on July 27, 2018.
28. The Carr Fire burns along a highway near Redding, California, on July 27, 2018.