(CNN) — While people in the western United States are experiencing record heat, wildfires are devastating many areas, especially in California, and red flag warnings have been issued from the northwest toward the Rocky Mountains.
There were at least 77 large wildfires burning in 15 states across the country as of Tuesday night, nearly a third of them in California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).
The fires have wiped out at least 262,400 acres in the 14 states where the fires are still raging, according to the NIFC.
Some 45 million people remain under some form of heat alert or warnings, and relief from the record heat in the West is not expected until the weekend.
Most of California and some surrounding areas are under an excessive heat advisory from the National Weather Service.
This is where the largest of the fires were reported as of Tuesday night, according to the NIFC, which counts area fires as complex, not individual fires. These numbers will be updated as soon as new data is available.
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Alaska
Number of fires: Seven
Hectares burned: More than 10,500 hectares
Cause: Lightning has caused the majority of the 331 fires reported this year to date, according to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center.
Arizona
Number of fires: 11
Size: More than 12,500 hectares
Cause: Lightning caused the largest of the fires, that of Cassadora Springs, according to information from the InciWeb Information System.
California
Number of fires: 25
Overall size: More than 139,000 hectares
Cause: The August complex, made up of 20 individual fires, was caused by lightning strikes in the Mendocino National Forest, according to information from the InciWeb Information System.
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Colorado
Number of fires: Five
Size: More than 54,600 hectares
Smoke covers much of Colorado and the Denver metro area is under an air quality alert.
Cause: The Pine Gulch fire, the largest now, was caused by lightning, according to an incident report on InciWeb.
Florida
Number of fires: One
Size: More than 40 hectares
Cause: Unclear
Idaho
Number of fires: From
Size: More than 198 hectares
Cause: The cause of the Muldoon fire, which has burned approximately 162 hectares, is under investigation.
Montana
Number of fires: Three
Size: Almost 3,200 hectares
Cause: The Bear Creek Fire was caused by lightning. It has burned more than 3,000 hectares.
Nevada
Number of fires: Two that are fully contained, which means that they no longer spread.
Size: They burned more than 5,600 hectares before being contained.
Cause: Lightning sparked the Poodle Fire, which has burned more than 5,500 acres.
New Mexico
Number of fires: From
Size: More than 1,050 hectares
Cause: Lightning also caused the Dark Canyon Fire, which burned more than 1,200 hectares.
Oregon
Number of fires: Seven, with two contents
Size: More than 8,900 hectares
Cause: The cause of the Indian Creek fire is under investigation. It has burned more than 5,600 hectares.
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Dakota del sur
Number of fires: One
Size: More than 200 hectares
Cause: Unclear
Texas
Number of fires: From
Size: More than 1,600 hectares
Cause: Unclear
Utah
Number of fires: Four
Size: More than 485 hectares
Cause: Unclear
Washington
Number of fires: Six
Size: More than 17,600 hectares
Cause: The Taylor Pond fire was caused by lightning, according to a Facebook post from the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team. It has burned almost 15,400 hectares.
Wyoming
Number of fires: 1
Size: More than 10,100 hectares
Cause: The Waddle Creek fire, on the Montana border, is still under investigation, according to CNN affiliate KULR.
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