A megafire that straddles two Central California counties has forced Caltrans to cancel its plans to close a highway near the sought-after enclave of Ojai for roadway construction.

The Gifford Fire has reached "mega fire" status at over 119,000 acres burned and has become California's largest fire this year.

CAL FIRE wrote on X on Friday: "California is under a heat wave, bringing hot, dry, and windy conditions, making wildfires more likely to occur and to spread fast. When temps soar, even a tiny spark can ignite disaster."

A rapidly spreading blaze in California is impacting communities in the Los Angeles area as thousands have been placed under evacuation orders, officials said.

The fire is burning with dry and hot conditions, as temperatures climb above 100 degrees in mountainous terrain on the Central Coast.

Canyon Fire grows to nearly 5,000 acres in SoCal, forcing evacuations and emergency response amid extreme heat. This live blog is now closed.

Rising temperatures pose new challenges for firefighters who have made incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California that has injured four people as it has become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year.

A wildfire in Southern California has burned over 72,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, officials said.

California wildfire scorches Western U.S. Wildfires continue to rage on in the West as firefighters battle California's Gifford Fire, which has already burned more than 40,000 acres.

A fast-moving brush fire, dubbed the “Hawk Fire,” broke out in Acton, California, on Thursday afternoon, quickly growing to 80 acres with potential for another 100 acres within an hour, according to the Watch Duty app.