California’s firefighting departments are still going through hell these days as more than 300 fires burn all throughout the state.

According to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the firefighters are "stretched thin" and exhausted; some of them have had to stay on site for several days in a row without getting any sleep.

The governor paid a visit to a command post located in the coastal region of Santa Barbara County; in this area, two homes and 13 outbuildings have been ruined, while 1,063 residences, 265 outbuildings and five commercial properties have been at serious risk because of the Los Padres National Forest fire, that has streched over more than 13 square miles. Nine firefighters have been injured while attempting to control this fire.

So far, in only two weeks, more than 800 square miles of land have been burnt down and 69 homes have been destroyed. Sadly, one firefighter died while engaged in fire line digging.

Earlier this week, the governor issued an order which called on 200 National Guard troops to immediatly start training in order to help the worn-out firefighters. According to a guard spokesman, this was the first time in 31 years when such an order has been given.

Gregg DeNitto, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said the weather is expected to get hotter and drier at the beginning of next week; obviously enough, this won’t help one bit with the current state of things.