Lightning strikes sparked wildfires across Northern California on Wednesday, scorching vast acres of sun-parched land. Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate, officials said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that firefighters are battling over 300 blazes in the state. Twenty-three of those are major fires or complexes.

There had been more than 10,800 lightning strikes seen in California for over 72 hours.

As the historic lightning strike siege left firefighters scrambling to extinguish fires from one end of the state to another, Newsom declared a statewide emergency. He called for extra personnel and equipment to battle the flames from the ground, and in the air, ABC News reported.

In a news conference Wednesday, he said that what has occurred in the 72 hours 'has certainly stretched the resources of this state."

Newsom said that Arizona, Nevada, and Texas are sending in extra equipment to help with the sheer volume of flames. Various fires have stretched California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) thin.

Newsom said Arizona, Nevada, and Texas are sending extra equipment because the sheer volume of the fires has stretched CalFire, the state's firefighting agency, thin.

"They're wearing a lot of gear, carrying equipment, hiking to remote locations, so it's a stress on the body," Cal Fire Spokesperson Lynette Round said in a Reuters article.

Two of the largest fires in the area are CZU August Lightning Complex in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties and the LNU Lightning Complex near Vacaville, California. Both fires are 0% contained.

Wednesday morning, the pilot of a Bell UH-1H helicopter died in a crash as he was on a water-dropping mission at the Hills Fire, reported NBC News. Cal Fire said the pilot worked for a private company contracted by the agency.

Smoke from over 30 blazes has led to alerts in some Bay Area communities for residents to shelter in place.

What caused such a phenomenon?

It's bad enough that the state has already been suffering from a record-breaking heatwave. Now, the lightning strikes are adding to the state's various weather-related problems.

According to a Forbes report, meteorologists said the lightning storm was caused by excessive moisture from a tropical storm off the California coast and the extreme heat. These two weather issues created an unstable atmosphere.

The authorities urged residents to be ready if they are asked to leave at a moment's notice. While they recognize that the events can be quite stressful to many, they asked residents to go with their plan.

Evacuation orders have already been issued to neighborhoods in the path of SCU, and LNU blazed. But Cal Fire Deputy Chief Sean Kavanaugh said people are free to leave on their own without orders.

He said people could leave, especially if they have stuff packed up and feel any threat to their lives.

"Make that decision to please leave your home," Kavanaugh said. He added the Cal Fire would not want people to be trapped in their homes, unable to get out.

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