State of emergency issued as 21 wildfires burn in Northern California

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Firefighters from across the state are in Northern California battling more than 20 wildfires in that region.

The larges of those fires is spreading quickly and thousands of people are being evacuated.

At least 21 wildfires are burning in Northern California, stretching from the Fresno area to the Shasta-Trinity National forest.

Dozens of homes have been destroyed and tens of thousands of acres have burned so far.

In Humboldt County, 18 smaller blazes make up the "Humboldt Lightning Fires."

At one point, more than 70 small fires were sparked by lightning in that area.

More than 2,600 acres have burned and Cal Fire reports that area at 15 percent contained.

Two structures were destroyed and 200 other structures are threatened.

The biggest of these fires is burning west of Sacramento in the Clear Lake Area.

The "Rocky Fire" is still spreading quickly and has burned more than 60,000 acres since it broke out on Friday.

It's still just 12 percent contained and 50 structures have been destroyed and more than 6,000 are threatened.

Some firefighters say they have never seen a wildfire like this one.

"Some of the fire behavior because the vegetation is so dry has been the term I'm using is historic and the reason I say that is there are firefighters that have 20, 25, 30 years on the job that have never seen fire behavior like we've seen the last couple of days here on the Rocky Fire," said Chief Steve Kaufman from the Ventura Co. California Fire Department. 

Some of the wildfires in Northern California are under control.

The "Willow Fire" near Fresno has been burning for eight days and is now 70 percent contained.

5,700 acres have burned in the Sierra National Forest.

No homes have been lost in that fire, but six people were injured.

Across the state, nearly 10,000 firefighters are working on the 21 fires, some of them from Southern California units, including San Diego.

Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on Friday, mobilizing the National Guard to support the disaster response.