Dubbed the ‘cold fire’, the blaze has been listed as just 5 percent contained.

More than 700 firefighters have been called in as well as helicopters and fire extinguishing planes to douse the blaze.

Steep, mountainous terrain as well as hot, dry conditions have hampered efforts to quell the blaze, which is tearing through drought-parched chaparral, grass and timber.

Another wildfire burning well into its second week near California’s Big Sur has had buffer lines carved around a quarter of its perimeter, steering flames more deeply into the forest and away from populated areas, officials said on Wednesday.

The gradual but steady progress being made against the so-called Soberanes blaze comes as wildfire season in the western United States was reaching its traditional peak, intensified by prolonged drought and extreme summer heat across the region.

The 13-day-old conflagration near Big Sur is one of nearly 30 major wildfires reported to have scorched roughly 700 square miles (1,813 sq km) in 12 states, mostly in the West, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

The fire threat, coming in the middle of the region's summer travel season, has prompted the closure of several popular California campgrounds and recreation areas.

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