Post Fire and Point Fire maps show where wildfires have spread in California

Firefighters across California are working to put out the fires that broke out over the weekend and continued to grow Monday, as the state faces a mix of hot, dry weather and powerful gusty winds. THE After the fireburning near Gorman, northwest of Los Angeles, has expanded to more than 15,600 acres, while the Spot firein Sonoma, covered 1,190 acres.

In New Mexico, the fast-moving South Fork Fire erupted Monday, prompting evacuations in Ruidoso, about 150 miles southeast of Albuquerque.

Authorities have released a series of wildfire maps tracking their spread. Eleven active wildfires of at least 10 acres or more were burning in California early Monday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire.

The agency has recorded 1,769 total wildfires so far this year, which have burned more than 41,900 acres and destroyed at least eight structures. No deaths have been reported in connection with the wildfires.

Northwest winds of 10 or 15 miles per hour — and gusts of up to 55 mph around some of the worst wildfires — have been superimposed on an overall drop in humidity in parts of California that , together, have created arid and windy conditions that allow fires to spread quickly. The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center issued a warning Monday morning regarding fire weather forecasts. Meteorologists predict increased fire concerns in the Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley, western Transverse Ranges and southern Sierra Nevada mountain range – areas of concern that collectively encompass a large part of California.

A red flag warning was in effect Monday for much of the state, covering hundreds of square miles from Northern California's Sacramento Valley to Santa Barbara County and the Antelope Valley in the south, near Los Angeles.

The National Weather Service issues alert warnings when the combined presence of hot temperatures, low humidity and strong winds fuels an elevated fire risk. Their advisory was expected to remain in effect across most of the alert zone until at least 8 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday.

Another map from CalFire shows smoke and haze conditions predicted for much of California and parts of other Western states, extending across southern Nevada and large swaths of Arizona, New -Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

After the fire

Of the 11 largest active wildfires reported Monday by Cal Fire, the Post Fire was by far the most massive. It broke out as a brush fire Saturday and prompted evacuations in Gorman, a rural community in northwest Los Angeles County. As of Monday morning, officials said the Post Fire had enveloped more than 15,000 acres of land in Los Angeles County and neighboring Ventura County as it swept through the grassy hills of Hungry Valley State Park and was moving southeast toward Pyramid Lake.

Crews have so far managed to contain 20% of the fire, Cal Fire said. More than 1,100 members of 34 different crews were assigned to respond, along with 14 tankers, 11 bulldozers, seven helicopters and hundreds of additional vehicles. Air tankers dispatched from across California were flying over the area to drop fire retardants as conditions permitted, according to Cal Fire, but the extent of the fire limited visibility above.

“Crews are working to establish perimeter safety lines around the edges of the fire,” Cal Fire wrote in its latest update. “Firefighters will continue to work overnight to reinforce the existing perimeter on the east side of the fire as wind is expected to push the fire further south toward Pyramid Lake.”

The agency noted that 1,200 people were evacuated from Hungry Valley Park due to the wildfire and that Pyramid Lake was closed as the flames grew closer. Cal Fire reiterated National Weather Service warnings of oncoming winds even more powerful than those already recorded in the area, with forecasters predicting gusts of up to 20 mph Monday afternoon that could potentially reach 50 mph around mountain ridges.

Craig Little of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said CBS Los Angeles that the wind “was a major factor” in the rapid spread of the fire “as well as the terrain”, which was already dry.

“All of this is a recipe for a flame that moves very quickly,” he said.

Fire officials said some buildings in the area around the Post Fire were threatened Monday and two suffered damage, but none were destroyed, CBS Los Angeles reported.

Spot fire

The Point Fire, ravaging the Sonoma wine region north of San Francisco, was 20% contained as of Monday evening, according to Cal Fire. At the time, the fire had spread across 1,190 acres of land extending southeast from the Sonoma Lake bottom. Twelve crews, including 400 firefighters, were responding to the fire Monday, with 10 water tankers and four helicopters as well as air tankers putting out the fire as visibility permitted.

Better weather conditions allowed crews to build and reinforce wildfire control lines around the fire's perimeter, Cal Fire said. But the agency warned that Monday's conditions could potentially allow the fire to continue to spread. As of 11 a.m. PT, the Point Fire had expanded by nearly 100 acres since Cal Fire's previous update a few hours before.

Hundreds of people were evacuated as the Point Fire quickly grew on Sunday, while another 4,000 residents in the area were placed under an evacuation warning. CBS San Francisco » reported, citing the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. An evacuation center was established at a high school in Forestville, about 15 miles from Sonoma, according to the station.

At least two residential structures were destroyed Monday evening, Cal Fire said.

At least one firefighter was injured while battling the Point Fire, Cal Fire said in an update on the incident released around 6 a.m. local time Monday. The update did not provide details on the nature of the injury or the circumstances surrounding it.

South Fork Fire

The South Fork Fire in New Mexico was discovered Monday morning and had burned more than 4,000 acres as of Monday evening, according to a map shared by the Village of Ruidoso.

Officials warned that the fire's growth was “rapid, with extreme fire behavior” and was not at all contained. Conditions prevented ground crews from responding to the fire Monday, but water drops were made by aircraft throughout the day, the New Mexico Forestry Division said.

The fire, burning on Mescalero tribal lands, prompted the evacuation of Ruidoso, a town of about 8,000 located about 140 miles north of El Paso, Texas.