SAN FRANCISCO -- An explosion of new wildfires across Northern California is being linked to lightning, with more than 10,000 strikes across the state on Tuesday.

At least one fire is burning homes in the historic Gold Rush town of Chinese Camp, and several others are forcing evacuations in the Sierra foothills. Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties have been hit hardest.

Cal Fire is now lumping several fires in those counties into the " TCU September Lightning Complex ." The complex is burning over 12,400 acres as of Wednesday morning, according to Cal Fire.

Video shows a house fully engulfed in flames in the foothills of the Sierra, specifically in Chinese Camp.

"There's a house burning behind me right now, it's kind of sad watching the houses burn up," nearby resident Salena Moyoe said

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