California fires: Wildfires burn through a record two million acres

Firefighters in California have been battling huge wildfires sparked by a heatwave for several weeks.

The state has seen extreme temperatures recently, with Los Angeles County recording its highest ever temperature of 49.4 degrees on Sunday.

On Monday, more than 14,000 firefighters continued to take on 24 different fires in the state.

The wildfires have now burned through more than two million acres of land according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), which is something that has never happened before.

"In the past 33 years we have not seen a single year go over two million acres until this year," said the Department's spokeswoman Lynne Tolmachoff.

Firefighters are currently battling more than two dozen blazes in the state

The wildfires managed to burn through around 1.9 million acres in 2018, which was the closest California had previously come to hitting two million acres.

The state's fire department has also warned that fire season, which occurs every year, isn't over yet. September and October are usually the worst months for fires because of the dry heat and wind.

Why is this happening?

Almost 12,000 lightning strikes started the blazes in California during a massive heatwave in mid-August.

Parts of the state have experienced extraordinary heat levels recently, with a temperature of 54.4 degrees being recorded at Death Valley in California last month.

It's believed this could be the hottest temperature to have ever been officially recorded on Earth.

Lots of homes and buildings have been destroyed

Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes as a result of the fires.

In northern California, more than 200 people were airlifted to safety on Saturday after they found themselves trapped near the Mammoth Pool Reservoir located in the Sierra National Forest.

There have been nearly 1000 fires in California since 15 August. So far, eight people have died and more than 3000 structures have been destroyed.