Photo: The Canadian Press

Cabin by wildfire near Panguitch, Utah. 

The nation's largest wildfire has forced more than 1,500 people from their homes and cabins in a southern Utah mountain area home to a ski town and popular fishing lake.

Firefighters battled high winds as they fought a fire that has grown to 184 square kilometres and burned 13 homes — larger than any other fire in the country now, state emergency managers said.

Some flames reached 100 feet high, while fire crews faced dry, windy conditions Tuesday and a "high potential" for extreme fire behaviour, officials said late Monday.

The estimated firefighting costs now top $7 million for a fire started June 17 near Brian Head Resort by someone using a torch tool to burn weeds, they said. Investigators said they know who the culprit is, but they haven't yet released the person's identity or what charges will be filed.

Meanwhile, firefighters made gains against a wildfire in California's Central Coast region that forced about 250 people to evacuate from their homes.

The blaze broke out late Monday afternoon and quickly grew to nearly five square kilometres, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. Containment reached 40 per cent Tuesday.

The evacuation order is for a string of homes along sparsely populated rural roads in and around the small town of Santa Margarita.

Another California wildfire, sparked by a traffic accident on a remote stretch of a highway 80 miles east of Los Angeles, grew to more than 23 square kilometres in hot and windy conditions. The blaze was 20 per cent contained at midday Tuesday.