California is poised to set an annual record it never wanted to break: the amount of earth scorched by wildfires.

Blazes have already ripped through enough acres to blacken the entire state of Delaware, and what’s typically California’s worst month for fires is just beginning. At least 11 people have died this year from wildfires that shut down Yosemite National Park, drove thousands from their homes and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings. And forecasters say prospects for rain are slim.

“We are going into a difficult period of the year,” said Scott McLean, a deputy chief at the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. And unlike in past years, when blazes were more intermittent, “the fires just haven’t stopped” in 2018, he said.

Eleven of California’s 20 deadliest fires occurred in previous Octobers, along with 11 of its most destructive, according to Cal Fire. They include last year’s Tubbs fire, which was the most destructive on record.

Parched grasses and brush are providing ample fuel for more fires to start. About 88 percent of California was abnormally dry as of Oct. 2, and almost half of it was in some stage of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor in Lincoln, Nebraska. A year ago, only 8.2 percent of the state was in drought.

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