A brush fire in a mountainous area north of Los Angeles ignited and spread quickly Thursday, forcing thousands of evacuations.

The Gifford Fire has scorched more than 96,000 acres of California’s Central Coast, becoming the state’s largest wildfire of the year so far. The massive wildfire burning in eastern San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties was 15% contained as of Thursday, Aug. 7, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

A dozen major wildfires are burning across California, and officials warn the threat will only grow in August and September, typically the most dangerous months for wildfires.