Firefighters monitor a backfire as they work the Walbridge fire in Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve protecting the heritage trees in Guerneville, Calif. on Aug. 25. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency in California Wednesday, as hundreds of fires raze over 1.4 million acres in a natural disaster that's seen over 100,000 people placed on evacuation orders.
The big picture: At least seven deaths have been reported and dozens of properties razed amid dismal air quality. The fires have brought another crisis to a state reporting the most coronavirus infections in the country.
Catch up quick: Firefighters have been facing record-breaking temperatures, dry conditions and more than 13,000 lightning strikes, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Per Cal Fire, the LNU Lightning Complex has charred over 360,800 acres and forcing hundreds to evacuate. It's 33% contained as of Wednesday.
The blaze near Vacaville, known as the Hennessey Fire and part of the LNU Lightning Complex, has been one of the most destructive, burning down homes and claiming the life of a PG&E worker assisting first responders. This same blaze has damaged hundreds of structures.
The CZU August Lightning Complex resulted in the evacuation of more than 64,000 people, according to Cal Fire. In Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, roughly 48,000 residents were required to evacuate.
The wildfire has burned some 81,100 acres and was 21% contained as of Tuesday.
The River Fire in Monterey County was 58% contained as of Tuesday and prompted mandatory evacuations. More than 48,400 acres have been burned.
A rooster walks by a burned vehicle during the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Vacaville, California on Aug. 24. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty ImagesFirefighters work to protect homes in Boulder Creek, California, Aug. 22. Photo: Dylan Bouscher/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty ImagesLa Borgata Winery owner Gerry Iuliano beside a burned barrel amid the charred remains of his winery during the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Vacaville, Aug. 23. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty ImagesFirefighters work to protect homes in Boulder Creek, Aug. 22. Photo: Dylan Bouscher/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty ImagesTraffic on Highway 24 as motorists travel through a thick cloud of smoke in Walnut Creek, Aug. 22. Photo: Jose Carlos Fajardo/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty ImagesEmbers scatter across Highway 1 as the CZU Lightning Complex fire burns in Ano Nuevo State Park, Aug. 22. Photo: MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty ImagesA Pacific Gas and Electric firefighter walks down a road as flames approach in Fairfield during the LNU Lightning Complex fire, Aug. 19. Photo: Josh Edelson/Getty ImagesThe remnants of a home near Pleasant Hills Ranch Way in Vacaville, Aug. 20. Photo: Anda Chu/MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty ImagesA cabin near Little Basin Road and Highway 236 goes up in flames in Boulder Creek. Photo: MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty ImagesA home burns in Vacaville, Aug. 19. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty ImagesA resident protecting his property as the LNU Lightning Complex of fires burn through Fairfield, Aug. 19. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesFirefighters monitor flames as they approach a residence in the valley area of Vacaville, Aug. 19. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty ImagesFirefighters attempt to stop a grass fire from jumping a road in Vacaville, Aug. 19. Photo by Karl Mondon/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty ImagesThe site of the Hennessey Fire in Vacaville, Aug. 19. Photo: Neal Waters/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesThe Lake Fire in the Angeles National Forest, by Lake Hughes, 60 miles north of Los Angeles, Aug. 15. Photo: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty ImagesFirefighters battle the Lake Fire near Lake Hughes, Aug. 15. The National Weather Service said Californians can expect excessive heat through Wednesday. Photo: Nick Ut/Getty ImagesFirefighters work at night cutting trees and removing vegetation in order to make a firebreak as they battle the Lake Fire, Aug. 15. Photo: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty ImagesA pyrocumulus cloud forms atop a smoke plume near the Ranch Fire as seen from Azusa, Aug. 15. The fire has razed some 2,500 acres and has yet to be contained, according to CalFire. Photo: David McNew/Getty ImagesA scorched statue in front of a home razed by the fire on Aug. 13. It's one of several properties and vehicles destroyed along Pine Canyon Road west of Lake Hughes. Photo: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Editor's note: This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
The late Justice Ginsburg will lie in repose for two days. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week at 87, will lie in repose on Wednesday and Thursday outside the Supreme Court for Americans to pay their respects.
What's happening: The eight justices and former Justice Anthony Kennedy wore masks to attend a private ceremony. Some of Ginsburg's former clerks were pallbearers and carried her casket to the court's Great Hall.
A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.
What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin: