THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

For the fires, not for those who have to battle them. The drought conditions have only made the season worse.

More than 10,000 acres have burned in the last 24 hours as more than three dozen fires have been sparked up and down the state, Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said.

Most of the fires are in the San Diego area, where thousands of residents are still under evacuation orders. In Carlsbad, about 30 miles north of San Diego, television images showed thick black smoke and homes surrounded by flames. Officials there said nearly two dozen structures were destroyed, including four single family homes, an apartment building and two commercial buildings. The losses were estimated at $22.5 million.

In San Marcos, a community about 15 miles inland from Carlsbad, evacuations remained in place and the California State University campus there had also been evacuated as the fire continued to grow Thursday. Nearly 30 school districts in the San Diego area closed on Thursday.

State officials said they had already battled 1,400 wildfires this year — twice the number of fires they would respond to over the same period in a normal year. Other states across the South and Southwest have also reported wildfires in recent days, including one earlier this week in the Texas Panhandle that destroyed more than 100 homes.

And while many of the fires had been contained Thursday morning, officials said they were most concerned that they could be a harbinger of a brutal fire season to come.

“We are used to very windy, very hot and dry conditions, but not in May,” Mr. Berlant said. “It is really unprecedented to have these conditions this early. We cannot remember a year where we have had this many fires this early. And everything is just going to get drier and hotter – even more of a tinderbox.”

Good luck to those in the affected areas and don't forget to keep the car gassed up for a quick getaway.