San Francisco, September 15 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of California, rapidly burning wildfires have consumed a number of towns, killing at least one person, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing thousands of people to flee.

California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Lake and Napa counties Sunday, two days after declaring a state of emergency for two other counties, as fires burn across the state.

The fires have spread rapidly amid the worst drought in California’s recorded history. This comes as California lawmakers sent a weakened version of a bill to address climate change to California Governor Brown.

The bill requires utilities to provide half of their electricity from renewable sources in 15 years. Following industry pressure, lawmakers omitted a key provision to cut oil use in half by 2030.