
A pair of fast-growing wildfires in northern California expanded to more than two-thirds the size of sprawling Los Angeles, becoming the sixth-largest blaze in state history.

Eerie photographs show an orange glow hovering over a relentless blaze in Clearlake Oaks, the latest town to fall victim to the Ranch fire.

Resident Alex Schenck was seen desperately dousing flames with buckets of water in his backyard in an effort to save his home.

While Schenck's home was miraculously spared, many of his neighbors were not so lucky, although officials have yet to determine how many houses were destroyed.

The River and Ranch fires, known collectively as the Mendocino Complex, have taken over 299,000 acres north of San Francisco as of Saturday night. Fire officials have said it is considered 32 percent contained.

More than 20,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate their homes as the fire tears through communities in Mendocino, Lake and Colusa counties.

The Mendocino Complex wildfires in northern California have expanded to more than two-thirds the size of sprawling Los Angeles, officials say. Pictured: Alex Schenck fights to save his home near Clearlake Oaks on Saturday

More than 200,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate their homes as the River and Ranch fires tear through the state

An eerie image shows a deer running from fierce flames as the Ranch Fire tears down a neighborhood in Clearlake Oaks

The Mendocino Complex fires are said to be about 32 percent contained as firefighters continue to battle the blazes

Through last week, California fires had torched about 290,000 acres (117,300 hectares), more than double the five-year average over that same period, according to Cal Fire.

The Mendocino Complex fires cover an area 71 percent of the size of Los Angeles. They have forced the evacuation of more than 20,000 residents and destroyed more than 100 structures.

More evacuations were ordered on Saturday afternoon, but no estimate of people involved was released.

This year, California wildfires have burned more land earlier in the 'fire season' than usual, Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott said during a news conference on Saturday.

'Fire season is really just beginning. What seems like we should be in the peak of fire season, historically, is really now the kind of conditions we're seeing really at the beginning,' Pimlott said.

California Governor Jerry Brown, who visited some of the burned areas on Saturday, said: 'This is part of a trend, the new normal, that we've got to deal with.'

The River and Ranch fires have grown to cover about 229,000 acres in northern California as of Saturday night

Schenck moves flaming pallets while fighting to save his home on New Long Valley Rd from the Ranch Fire on Saturday

The fire tore through Schenck's backyard but miraculously spared his house near Clearlake Oaks

Clearlake Oaks resident Lane Lawder hauls a water bucket through his yard to lend firefighters a hand in fighting the flames

A stone Buddha lawn statue stands under the fire's orange glow outside a home on New Long Valley Road

The Mendocino Complex fires have swelled to become larger than the deadly Carr Fire, about 100 miles to the northeast, which has killed at least six people and destroyed more than 1,500 structures.

The cause of the deadly Carr fire has been revealed as a flat tire on a towed trailer.

The rim of the flat tir threw off sparks from the asphalt along Highway 299 outside of Redding, California on July 23, igniting what would become the sixth-most destructive wildfire in state history, CNN reported.

Firefighters by Saturday night had managed to contain 41 percent of the Carr blaze, measured at 145,000 acres (58,680 hectares), and authorities were allowing some evacuees to return, Cal Fire said.

Both areas remained under a 'red flag warning' issued by the National Weather Service for strong winds, low relative humidity and temperatures topping 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), all conditions that can drive the growth of wildfires.

So far this year, US fires have burned 5 million acres (2 million hectares), much more than the 10-year average, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Three men were given citations on Saturday for refusing to leave an area where firefighters wanted a tanker plane to make an air drop, causing the plane to be diverted, according to a post on the Lake County Sheriff Office's Facebook page. The men when contacted by deputies were watering their marijuana plants, the posting said.

A firefighter gathers water from a pool to help quash the out-of-control flames of the Ranch Fire near Clearlake Oaks