A wildfire in a wilderness area of central California exploded in size as dry, hot weather Thursday raised the fire risk for large portions of the state ahead of the July 4 holiday.

The Madre Fire became California’s largest blaze so far this year, ripping through grasslands after breaking out Wednesday in southeastern San Luis Obispo County. It swiftly grew to more than 82 square miles (212 square kilometers). It was just 10% contained by Thursday evening.

Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for tiny communities near State Route 166 as flames moved through hilly terrain toward the Carrizo Plain National Monument, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Santa Maria. The region about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles contains vast grasslands that draw visitors in the spring to see its wildflowers.

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Part of Route 166 East was closed Thursday, and there was “no estimate for re-opening,” California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans, said on social media.

The fire was pushed by summer gusts that typically increase as the sun starts going down, said meteorologist Ryan Kittell with the National Weather Service.

“The winds are pretty light during the day, but they do pick up pretty substantially in the afternoon and evening hours,” Kittell said. He said gusts could reach 40 mph (64 kph) later in the day Thursday, posing new challenges for firefighters working in 95-degree F heat (35 C).

Dozens of smaller wildfires were burning across the state. Southern California’s Wolf Fire reached 55% containment Thursday after charring more than 3.7 square miles (9.5 square kilometers) of dry brush since breaking out June 29 in Riverside County east of Los Angeles.

Extremely dry conditions after a below-average rainy season signal a bad stretch for a region still recovering from devastating wildfires earlier this year.

"We are on track for a pretty devastating year overall," Matt Rahn, the director of the Wildfire Conservancy, told the Los Angeles Times. "If we get hotter and drier throughout the state, then that risk increases significantly. We're hoping that that doesn't happen, but all predictions are pointing to a much hotter, drier summer and fall."

Massive fires broke out in Riverside and San Bernardino over the weekend, forcing hundreds to be evacuated from their homes and stretching firefighting resources thin. The Wolf Fire, currently burning just south of Banning, California, in Riverside County, has already scotched over 2,000 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or CALFire. As of Monday afternoon, the fire had 30% containment, according to CALFire.

Temperatures are expected to cool off a bit this week for much of Southern California, but the typical factors that fuel wildfire growth aren't coming into play as much, such as high winds and low humidity. What's driving these wildfires is the immense amount of dry brush the fires have to fuel them, signaling a particularly devastating fire season could be ahead.

"Just because things have been so dry and we haven't had that meaningful rainfall that we need, that's why we're starting to see fires about to break out," Sam Zuber, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Diego, told the Los Angeles Times. "Things are just really dry out there."

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