California just witnessed one of its hottest weekends in memory, which intensified destructive wildfires that erupted. The scorching temperatures forced the National Weather Service to issue heat alerts for nearly the entire state. Many areas were also under red-flag warnings for high fire danger as the heat worsened blazes already burning and helped fuel new ones. Numerous locations in California experienced their hottest September day on record Sunday. A few spots saw their highest temperatures ever observed in any month.

Woodland Hills, just 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles, soared to 121 degrees, the highest temperature ever observed in Los Angeles County. Chino, 32 miles east of Los Angeles, also hit 121 degrees. Both the Chino and Woodland Hills marks were the highest ever recorded west of the mountains in Southern California.

The blistering heat helped fuel a serious wildfire situation Saturday when the Creek Fire in the Sierra National Forest erupted, about 290 miles north of Los Angeles. The blaze was first detected Friday night and rapidly grew to at least 45,500 acres by Sunday afternoon.

That fire trapped about 1,000 people near Mammoth Pool reservoir as flames crossed the San Joaquin River, including about 150 people who became stranded at a boat launch, the Associated Press reported.