<span style="color: #222222;">Weary firefighters in California raced on Saturday to slow the spread of wildfires that burned nearly one million acres statewide in a week and destroyed hundreds of homes ahead an expected weather change that could bring more lightning strikes like the ones that sparked many of the blazes.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Responding to the emergency, President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration to provide federal assistance.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the declaration will also help people in counties affected by the fires with crisis counseling, housing and other social services.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Two clusters of wildfires in the San Francisco Bay Area grew to become the second- and third-largest wildfires in recent state history by size.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Light winds and cooler and more humid nighttime weather helped fire crews make progress on those fires and a third group of fires south of San Francisco ahead of the forecast of warm, dry weather, erratic wind gusts and lightning, state fire officials said.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Since thousands of lightning strikes began on Aug. 15, the state reported 585 wildfires that have burned nearly a million acres, or 4,046 square kilometers, according to reports.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Many were small and remote. The bulk of damage was from three fire "complexes" that were ravaging forest and rural areas in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">They have burned 2,700 square kilometers. The fires have killed five people, torched nearly 700 homes and other structures and forced tens of thousands from their houses.</span><br />