California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in three counties as wildfires continue to burn out of control.
There are fears Tropical Storm Kay will fan the flames via 50 mile-per-hour gusts, then trigger flooding across the burned ground with heavy rain.
On Thursday afternoon, states of emergency were declared for Riverside County, where the Fairview Fire has been blazing since Monday, and further north in Placer and El Dorado counties, which have been struggling to contain the Mosquito Fire since Tuesday.
In Riverside County authorities are preparing to evacuate 22,000 people around Hemet, with the Riverside County Fire Department expanding the area covered by compulsory evacuation orders.
Tropical Storm Kay is tracking northwards, having made landfall in Mexico on Thursday evening as a Category 1 hurricane. It has since been downgraded, but its powerful winds are driving more extreme heat into an already scorched southern California.
Jeff Veik, from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's (CAL FIRE) Riverside Unit, warned Tropical Storm Kay will later produce "significant potential for rainfall."
He said: "So we could go from a fire suppression event into significant rain, water rescues, mudslides, debris. We have challenging days ahead."
The National Hurricane Center is warning of flash flooding on Friday in southern California and southwest Arizona, with CNN forecasting Tropical Storm Kay could dump a typical year's worth of rain on these areas.
The Fairview Fire has already burned through 27,319 acres, according to CAL FIRE, and is only five percent contained.
John Crater, who heads a CAL FIRE division in Temecula, told locals to be ready for evacuation. He said: "I have not seen a fire burn like this in Riverside County in my career.
"It's a very stubborn fire. It's doing things that we just haven't seen. Have your bags packed, have a go bag and have a plan. We are expecting to evacuate about 22,000 people.
"The traffic impact is going to be heavy, so when we ask you to leave, please do so in an orderly manner and help our law enforcement partners."
On Tuesday two people were killed, and another seriously injured, whilst attempting to escape from the Fairview Fire.
According to CAL FIRE the inferno has already destroyed 11 structures and is threatening another 18,753.
Further north, CAL FIRE says the Mosquito Fire, which straddles Placer and El Dorado counties, remains zero percent contained and has burned through 13,705 acres.
Wildfires are also raging across Oregon, consuming 168,000 acres and threatening the power of more than 40,000 households.
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