At least 23 large wildfires are raging in forests and woodlands across California, taking the life of one firefighter and forcing hundreds to flee their homes as crews continue to battle the flames from the air and the ground.

The blazes, many sparked by lightning strikes, were burning across Northern California on Saturday, said Daniel Berland, spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Some 9,000 firefighters were working to subdue them, something made incredibly difficult by several years of drought that have dried out the state.

"The conditions and fire behavior we're seeing at 10 in the morning is typically what we'd see in late afternoon in late August and September," said Nick Schuler, a division chief with Cal Fire. "But because of the dry conditions, because of the drought-stricken vegetation accompanied by the steep terrain and winds, we're seeing fire activity that's abnormal for this time of year."

The fires forced Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency for California and activate the California National Guard to help with disaster recovery.

Berland said firefighters were hoping cooler weather might help them this weekend, but there was also the threat that lingering thunderstorms could bring more lightning strikes like those that ignited several of the fires.

Engine Capt. David Ruhl, from South Dakota, was killed battling a fast-moving blaze that broke out on Thursday in the Modoc National Forest, located about 100 miles south of Oregon.

Ruhl was in a vehicle Thursday, looking for ways to fight the blaze, when officials lost contact with him, fire information officer Ken Sandusky said. His body was recovered on Friday.

Ruhl had been helping California firefighters since June. He was originally part of a Black Hills National Forest firefighting team. The fire had grown to about 3 acres by Saturday, and it was 5 percent contained.

The biggest fire was in the Lower Lake area north of San Francisco, where firefighters had to wade through thick smoke and flying embers to turn loose horses, goats and other livestock as their owners fled to safety.

The fast-moving fire had burned three homes by Friday and was threatening 450 other structures. Only 5 percent contained by Saturday, it had charred 35 square miles south of Clear Lake, a popular summer recreation spot.

At least 650 residents have been evacuated from their homes as the blaze raged in hills covered in dense brush and oak trees and dotted with ranch homes.

"We saw it behind our house. We saw the smoke pouring over. So we just started collecting stuff and we left, to find out later that everyone was evacuated out here," said resident Julie Flannery.

When they returned Friday, they found their two horses and one mule were gone. They hoped firefighters turned them loose so they could make their way to safety.

"The rest of this is just material stuff," she said. "The animals and the family is the most important."

A woman was arrested in connection with a small fire near Goveland, a stop-offp oint headed to Yosemite National Park.

The 200-acre fire, about 20 miles from the park's entrance, was 45 percent contained Saturday, when all evacuations were lifted and residents were allowed to return to their homes.

Lisa Ann Vilmur was arrested Thursday night on allegations of recklessly causing a fire. She was jailed on $100,000 bail, and it was not known if she has an attorney who could comment.

In a separate foothills blaze northeast of Sacramento, evacuation orders were lifted for residents of 50 homes. The fire, which ignited Saturday, burned through more than 3 1/2 square miles and was almost fully contained.

At least 200 homes were evacuated in a community of Cascadel Woods in central California. Authorities say a boy acknowledged starting the fire near Bass Lake by plying with a lighter to burn pine needles. The fire has grown to more than 6 square miles and is partially contained.

Crews battling a fire east of Napa Valley held their ground Saturday, more than a week after the blaze started about 45 miles east of Napa's wine county.

More than 12 square miles in Solano County have been charred, but the fire was 92 percent contained, and crews expected to have it fully corralled by Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.