Evacuations were ordered in Azusa, Los Angeles county, on Monday, after new fires were reported in the San Gabriel mountains. Firefighters have been working in several locations to end blazes that broke out in California last Wednesday. Almost 8,000 acres have been burnt in the Sherpa fire, northwest of Santa Barbara, Reuters reported. The fires have been caused by high temperatures in the region and bone-dry brush that has not been burnt in decades, the report added.

More than 1,900 firefighters were assigned to fight the blaze last week, and red flag warnings, or fire weather warnings, were posted for the mountains surrounding Los Angeles. Other fires have broken out, including one southwest of San Diego that has burnt more than 1,900 acres of land. Only around 5% of this blaze has been contained so far. Many nearby areas have been evacuated.

The region extending from the West Coast to Mexico has experienced unusually high temperatures this year. Around 17,000 acres of land has also been burnt in a fire in New Mexico.