California has experienced one of the worst years on record for wildfires.

Residents of the Golden State finally found respite from a yearslong drought when it officially ended in April but, as it turned out, some of the worst fires in Californias history were just around the corner.

Cal Fire, the states firefighting agency, reports that more than twice as many acres burned in California this year compared to last year with more than 6,700 fires burning over 500,000 acres from Jan. 1 to Dec. 3, 2017. That doesnt count the over 150,000 acres burned this week.

The 2017 figures eclipse the states five-year average of 4,700 fires burning over 200,000 acres per year.

This is one of the worst fire years, Cal Fire deputy chief Scott McLean told HuffPost on Friday. Due to the severity of the fires, the growth rate and speed of the fires, and unfortunately, Ive never seen this amount of death. With 44 people who lost their lives [in October], you just dont see that.

Despite the ongoing fire threat, President Donald Trump has proposed cuts to forest services that help fight wildfires. The presidents proposed 2018 budget includes a $300 million reduction to the U.S. Forest Services wildfire fighting programs, another $50 million in cuts to its wildfire prevention efforts and a 23 percent reduction to funding for volunteer fire departments.

Experts say climate change has contributed to extreme weather patterns in California, including high temperatures and long periods of drought that create ideal conditions for wildfires to erupt.

Its a testament to what weve been telling folks on how to be prepared, McLean said. Wildfires can strike anywhere in the state its not if, its basically when. And its not gonna stop.

Heres a look at some of the most devastating wildfires that have hit the state this year.

July: Massive Fire Grew At Unprecedented Speed