The fire season in California could extend in the fall, officials said

More than 1.2 million acres of California land were charred and more than 1,200 homes were destroyed during this year's extended fire season.

This summer, more than a dozen fires burned at the same time throughout California, and the following month, fire activity could worsen, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In Northern California, the Delta fire – which forced the closure of a stretch of Interstate 5, which stretches along the state – had consumed nearly 37,000 acres on Saturday. reported the newspaper. But the highway was to open on Sunday.

Jessica Gardetto, a spokesperson for the national inter-agency firefighting center, told the newspaper that forest fires are likely to get worse and more difficult to contain.

"It's quite common for California to experience this level of fire in the fall, but it's not usually the entire state," she said.

Last year, 1.4 million acres were burned throughout California.

Firefighters expressed concern over fires, which became more intense and less predictable, and the longer fire season. The season lasts about 72 days longer than it did three decades ago, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

"It's a marathon that's getting longer and longer," said J Olsen, a firefighter from the Central Calaveras Fire and Rescue Department who worked on the Mendocino complex fire. "Every season, I think it will be the worst season we've seen."

California accounts for 10% of the area burned in the United States since 2000, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

The northern and southern parts of the state have experienced numerous fires in recent weeks, prompting thousands of residents of cities and rural areas to evacuate.

Most are either entirely confined or close to containment.

The most recent fire, the Kerlin fire, began Tuesday and has so far burned 1,200 acres in the northern part of the state.

The Mendocino Complex's fire has burned over 459,000 acres and is the largest forest fire in modern Californian history. About 157 houses and 123 buildings were destroyed.

For more than a month this summer, the fiery Ferguson burned on rugged terrain and closed the Yosemite Valley for three weeks. Two firefighters were killed in action.

At least 12 homes were destroyed as a result of the sacred fire near the Cleveland National Forest in August.