Two wildfires cause thousands to evacuate in California

California wildfires have forced over 100,000 people to evacuate and seriously injured two firefighters.

This most recent outbreak of flames joins the US infernos of 2020, which have already claimed thousands of homes and taken 31 lives.

The fires quickly spread in the south of the state, pushed by strong winds and dry conditions, bringing power outages to thousands of people.

Essential roads for those fleeing have been blocked by the raging fires that have destroyed over 7,200 acres of Orange Country's land.

On Monday morning, a fire known as the 'Silverado Fire' broke out in Irvine. By the afternoon, the fire had grown four times larger in size.

Another blaze, known as the 'Blueridge fire', started in Yorba Linda also on Monday. Nearly 2,000 homes were evacuated and the flames destroyed 1,200 acres of land.

Despite meteorologists recording the strongest winds and lowest humidity levels, it was, in fact, the worst wildfire season ever in terms of land damage, with the equivalent landmass of Hawaii being burned.

The consequences of climate change have only encouraged the wildfires.

Investigations have begun into the cause of the fires. A utility company, Southern California Edison, is looking into whether a "lashing wire" struck a high voltage conducting line, causing the blaze.

The company has shut off electricity to nearly 21,000 houses to prevent encouragement of the fires, especially as high winds are only increasing the risks.