"Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.

The largest of the wildfires ravaging the area shifted direction, triggering more evacuation orders and posing a new challenge to exhausted firefighters.

Officials are working to cut off spreading flames before strong winds return, which could push the wildfires toward the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles.