Thousands of Northern California homes were threatened Sunday by the nation's largest wildfire and officials warned the danger of new blazes erupting across the West was high because of unstable weather.

Thunderstorms that moved in starting Friday didn't produce much rain but whipped up winds and generated lightning strikes across the northern Sierra where crews were battling the month-old Dixie Fire. Extreme heat returned Sunday with temperatures expected to top 100 degrees (38 Celsius).

“We're definitely still dealing with the possibility of lightning. Winds are all over the place. Things are going to be pretty unstable for the next couple days,” said fire spokesman Edwin Zuniga.

Gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) on Saturday pushed flames closer to Janesville, a town of about 1,500 people just east of Greenville, the small gold rush-era community decimated by the fire 10 days ago.

James Reichle evacuated from Greenville and has been sleeping with his dog in a trailer outside a church. His home survived the flames but he's been unable to return because the roads are closed. He said he feels for his neighbors at the evacuation center who lost everything.

“These are all people who either don’t have a home or don’t have access to a home. I still have a house standing, no damage. But I can’t get into it,” he said Saturday.

The Dixie Fire was the largest among more than 100 big blazes burning in more than a dozen states in the West, a region seared by drought and hot, bone-dry weather that turned forests, brushlands, meadows and pastures into tinder.

The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it is operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system.

The roughly 21,000 federal firefighters working on the ground is more than double the number of firefighters sent to contain forest fires at this time a year ago, said Anthony Scardina, a deputy forester for the agency’s Pacific Southwest region.

More than 6,000 firefighters alone were battling the Dixie Fire, which has ravaged nearly 867 square miles (2,246 square kilometers) — an area the size of Tokyo. It was 31% contained on Sunday.

Near Taylorsville, California, some firefighters on Sunday were monitoring a bear cub who was possibly orphaned in the fire. The emaciated cub was awaiting extraction from the burn-scarred area by a wildlife rescue team.

“Generally if you see them with a sow or a mother bear, they’ll stay with the mother bear and run off,” said firefighter Johnnie Macy, who was deployed from Golden, Colorado to battle the Dixie Fire. “This bear hasn’t done that, so because of that we think that the bear’s orphaned as a result of the fire.”

More than 1,000 homes and businesses have been destroyed and nearly 15,000 structures were still under threat.

The cause has not been determined. Pacific Gas and Electric has said the fire may have been sparked when a tree fell on its power line.

A few hundred miles to the south, evacuations were ordered Sunday after a blaze that broke out the night before churned through California forestland near the remote community of Omo Ranch. There was no containment of the Caldor Fire burning in El Dorado County, about 60 miles (73 kilometers) east of Sacramento.

Meanwhile, a small wildfire that blew up Saturday east of Salt Lake City, temporarily shutting down Interstate 80 and leading to evacuation orders for some 8,000 residences, was caused by a vehicle with a malfunctioning catalytic converter, Utah Fire Info said.

The Parleys Canyon Fire, estimated at just under a square mile (2.4 square kilometers), calmed significantly overnight and homes were no longer threatened, officials said Sunday.

In southeastern Montana, firefighters gained ground on a pair of blazes that chewed through vast rangelands and at one point threatened the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

The fires were caused by heat from coal seams, the deposits of coal found in the ground in the area, said Peggy Miller, a spokeswoman for the fires.

Mandatory evacuations for the tribal headquarters town of Lame Deer were lifted Sunday, but remained in place for those with medical conditions. Heavy smoke led to unhealthy air quality across much of the state early Sunday afternoon, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Smoke also drove air pollution levels to unhealthy or very unhealthy levels in parts of Northern California, Oregon and Idaho.

In southeastern Oregon, two wildfires started by lightning Thursday spread rapidly through a landscape sucked dry by extreme drought.

Hot weather and bone-dry conditions in Oregon could increase fire risks through the weekend, forecasters said.

Climate change has made the U.S. West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists.

SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. — As the intensity and frequency of natural disasters increase, more homeowners are being left uninsured.

Charlie Martin is among those unprotected this wildfire season. Owner of Chalk Hill Ranch and Toby Lane Vineyards in Sonoma, County, California, Martin took over the family horse boarding operation 20 years ago.

"I work harder now than when I had a job," said Martin.

Up until 2017, the threat of wildfires was hardly on his radar.

“When the Tubbs Fire came, first big fire, thought well, this was a one-off. We were very lucky because it only burned 50 acres of the back of our ranch," said Martin. “The Kincade Fire, on the other hand, was a come to Jesus experience. We weren’t expecting it. The trauma, the emotion, everything that took place after that, it took a long time for us to handle.”

While his structures were spared, the 2019 fire scorched much of his ranch. Now, the threat is a part of life.

"I get up every morning, go out the door, and look for smoke," said Martin. “You never lose the thought of fire. Once you’ve experienced it, it’s part of you.”

But hyper-aware, his team is now better prepared to respond in an emergency. Working alongside the nonprofit NorCal Livestock Evac, they have an evacuation plan in place to move the 50 horses in their care to safety.

Yet, they feel more exposed now than ever.

“We had an insurance carrier for 40 years, never a claim. Not one claim. Well, we made our first claim, and they paid that claim, and then they immediately canceled," said Martin. “I haven’t been able to find insurance since.”

From 2018 to 2019, the number of policies that insurance companies decided not to renew increased 31% in the state. And rates are rising as wildfires grow more frequent and destructive. The same is happening in states like Florida and Louisiana, hit hard by hurricanes and other disasters.

"I actually had one company tell me they could insure me for five times the amount of premium that I had on my original policy, and I didn't take that because it was just astronomical," said Martin. “It’s like highway robbery. Where’s the deal? You don’t expect a deal, but you expect something at least fair.”

A new California report outlines "climate insurance" strategies. Mandated by state law, a working group of environmental advocates, researchers, and insurance experts was created to make policy recommendations to reduce the costs from wildfires, extreme heat, and flooding.

Among the recommendations, consider insurance policies for entire communities to guarantee that all residents have some degree of coverage.

It also recommends the state explore nature-based insurance solutions such as investments in wetlands and floodplains to reduce flood risk and the use of ecologically managed, open space buffers to protect from wildfires.

But until strategies become real-life solutions, more homeowners will find themselves uninsured—some relying on a higher power for protection.

“You can see this part of the hill was a very hot fire. But you see this bench here on the right? It didn’t touch that bench," Martin said, referencing a bench dedicated to his late mother. "So, we had to think she was sitting on that bench during the fire, saying, 'Not on my watch.'”

He says nearby homes on the market are going unsold.

“We’re just hoping something will turn around," said Martin. "I’m staying. If I don’t get insurance, where am I going to go?"

When firefighters are called upon to face dangerous wildfires, they sacrifice everything for the good of others. It is with that in mind that Woody Faircloth moved to start his own nonprofit, EmergencyRV.org.

"A lot of people have RVs, but they just have them in storage and don’t use them as much as they use to, so if you donate them to our nonprofit, we can give you the full appraised value as a tax deduction," said Faircloth.

Over the years, he’s donated 90 RVs and trailers to firefighters.

"Some of these firefighters we helped just last year, they drove by their homes as they were being engulfed in flames because they were evacuating the town," said Faircloth.

Come Friday, and he’ll be on the road to the Dixie Fire in California to deliver an RV and a trailer.

"We got called two days ago from the California Fire Foundation, and they told us that, 'Hey, we’ve got 10 firefighters who lost their homes, and we really could use your help,'" said Faircloth.

Some of the firefighters still don’t know they lost their homes. Making it even more meaningful when Faircloth provides a place for them to take shelter.

"Some of those firefighters have young families, and they don’t have anywhere to go. They’ve lost everything they own, and we want to give them a place to call home until they can get up on their feet again," said Faircloth.

It’s a need Faircloth only sees increasing as wildfires continue to destroy so much and leave by behind little to nothing.

"We still have a home to come home to. We’re still blessed with everything we have, and there is no adversity," said Faircloth.

A small act of kindness that could mean a world of a difference to a firefighter in need.

Ivan Rodriguez at KMGH first reported this story.