SCORCHED

California Fires Blaze On Despite Heat Wave Reprieve

The LNU Lightning Complex, a series of fires near San Francisco, more than doubled in size to cover 131,000 acres Thursday.

Wildfires in California raged on Thursday despite a break in the intense heat wave that spurred on fires across the state. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, fires in the San Francisco Bay Area were only about 7 percent contained by Thursday. The fires ignited as the result of a rare lightning storm amid a heat wave, and the LNU Lightning Complex, a group of fires near San Francisco, has more than doubled in size to 131,000 acres since Wednesday. At least 30,000 additional homes were threatened Thursday by the fires as evacuations continue across the state. A Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. worker died in the fire while trying to protect fire crews, and more than 100 homes have been scorched.