The fire is burning with dry and hot conditions, as temperatures climb above 100 degrees in mountainous terrain on the Central Coast.

Rising temperatures pose new challenges for firefighters who have made incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California that has injured four people as it has become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year.

The Gifford Fire rages to more than 82,000 acres of destruction. The photos from the frontlines show how intense the California wildfire has become.