The fire, ignited by a lightning strike, has been driven by a major heat wave spreading record-setting temperatures through the West, the Great Basin and the Northern Rockies. Las Vegas, California's Central Valley, Oregon, Washington and Utah are among the areas feeling the triple-digit burn.

According to Climate Central, there were 46 monthly high temperature records and 13 all-time high temperature records set or tied in the U.S. between June 24 and June 29, 2013. A monthly temperature record was set at 129°F in Death Valley, Calif., on Sunday, nearly reaching the Valley's world record temperature of 134°F in 1913.

Here, a wildfire destroys homes in the Glenn Ilah area near Yarnell, Ariz., June 30, 2013.

(AP Photo/ The Arizona Republic/ David Kadlubowski)

2012 was the third-highest destructive wildfire year in the U.S., with about 9 million acres- an area larger than the state of Maryland- scorched from conditions owing to drought and record heat.

There were seven times more 10,000-acre fires each year of this decade than there were in the average year during the 1970's, says Climate Central research. Wildfires have burned twice as much land annually as they did 40 years ago, and the average yearly burn area on public land in the West has exceeded 2 million acres, or more than the entirety of Yellowstone National Park.

The above undated group photo, provided by the City of Prescott, shows members of the Granite Mountain team who lost their lives on Sunday, June 30.

(AP Photo/City of Prescott)

The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) reports that the 38 catastrophic U.S. wildfires of 2012 caused $595 million in insured losses.

The country's most expensive wildland fire occurred in Oakland, CA. in 1991, causing about $2,576 in insured losses (in 2011 dollars). The most recent record-setting blaze occurred in Bastrop County, TX. In 2011, causing $530 million in today's insured loss dollars.

Texas, California, Idaho and Oregon are among some of the highest-ranked states in terms of number of wildfires and acreage of fire damage. According to Climate Central, Arizona is the fastest-warming state in the contiguous U.S., with average surface temperatures increasing by 0.72°F per decade since 1970.

This April 12, 2012 photo captures the Granite Mountain Hotshots train in setting up emergency fire shelters outside of Prescott, Ariz. The firefighters deployed these shelters, meant to shield them from flames and heat, when caught in the deadly blaze this weekend.

(AP Photo/Cronkite News, Connor Radnovich)

University of Arizona analysis of the National Climate Assessment Report found a link between climate change and wildfire in Arizona, driven by regional temperature increases, drought condition, and earlier snow melt.

Other contributors to wildfire damage are population growth and development that has occurred near historically-active wildland fire areas.

This photo shows Tanker 910 making a retardant drop Yarnell Hill Fire to help protect the Double Bar A Ranch near Peeples Valley, Arizona, Sunday, June 30, 2013.

(AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Tom Story)