A firefighter has died while assigned to battle of California's largest ever wildfires, which has burned for nearly eight weeks and burned down 700 homes.
The first responder suffered from a previous illness and their death was unrelated to the blaze, authorities said Sunday.
The exact cause and manner of his death have not been released.
It's the first fatality in a season of 7,000 fires that have destroyed thousands of buildings and forced entire towns to flee.
The Dixie Fire, which the unnamed firefighter was working on, began on July 13 in the northern Sierra Nevada and is the second-largest wildfire in recorded state history.
It has burned nearly 894,000 acres, or 1,400 sq mi, in five counties and three national parks and forests, according to Cal Fire.
The Dixie Fire, above in August 21, has burned 700 homes and 1,300 buildings in total since it started spreading on July 13
It's being fought by 3,800 firefighters, who have kept it 56 percent contained as of Saturday. It has injured there firefighters
A woman cries in front of the remains of her mother's home, burned by the Dixie Fire, in Greenville, California on Saturday
Over 14,000 firefighters are fighting 13 active fires in California, with calmer wings and high humidity helping in recent days
The Dixie Fire is the second-largest in state history, spanning five counties and three national parks and forests, officials say
Three firefighters have been injured battling the blaze, which was 56 percent contained as of Saturday after destroying nearly 1,300 homes and other buildings, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The fire is being fought by 3,800 firefighters from various agencies.
More than 14,480 firefighters are fighting 13 active large wildfires throughout the state. To date, more than 1.98 million acres have burned statewide, accordion to Cal Fire.
Calmer winds and higher humidity in the past two days helped crews trying to surround the Dixie Fire, which at its peak raged through more than 100,000 acres of timber in a single day, fire officials said.
Curtis and Wendy Weight react to the remains of their burned home in Greenville, California Saturday. The couple had sold their home and were set to close on it in two weeks
The blaze still was devouring 10,000 to 20,000 acres 'which seems huge, except when you compare it to the size of the whole fire,' said Robert Jones, a fire information officer.
This is the first reported death among the more than 7,000 wildfires that have hit California this year in a season marked by drought and hot, dry weather that has turned timber, brush and grasslands into tinder throughout the U.S. West. California's fires have burned close to 2 million acres, or over 3,000 sq mi.
Fire concerns have shut down all national forests in the state.
California has experienced increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West much warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists have said weather will continue to be more extreme and wildfires more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.
The Caldor Fire, seen above raging in Sly Park, California on August 27, is close to the popular getaway of Lake Tahoe
Firemen take a break while working on the Caldor Fire on Wednesday in South Lake Tahoe, burning below the Dixie Fire
The Caldor Fire is 43 percent contained as evacuations in the Nevada border are lifted, though some areas are under warning
South of the Dixie Fire, the Caldor Fire remained only a few miles from the popular resort of Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border.
About 22,000 residents of South Lake Tahoe were ordered to evacuate last week.
Overnight, crews working on the eastern edge of the blaze were able to hold the fire within current containment lines and the immense blaze was now 43 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.
There was no immediate word on when residents might be allowed to return home, but in a Sunday morning briefing, Tim Ernst, a fire operations section chief, said crews would continue to quench embers and mop up hot spots to make it safe to repopulate some communities around South Lake Tahoe 'in the coming days.'
Mandatory evacuation orders on the Nevada side of the state line were lifted Saturday, but some areas remained on a warning status.
Douglas County authorities urged residents to stay alert, saying the fire still has the potential to threaten homes.
The fire has injured five firefighters and civilians and burned more than 700 homes, Cal Fire reported. Nearly 28,000 homes, businesses and other buildings remained threatened, ranging from cabins to ski resorts.