The stubborn blaze, which has burned more than 100 square miles (41 hectares) in the Los Padres National Forest, was just one of hundreds raging around the state. And officials Thursday reported California’s first firefighter death this year — a volunteer who collapsed on the fire line in Mendocino County.

So much forest has burned near Big Sur that animals have been forced out of their habitat and onto the roads. Buzzards flew overhead to snatch up dead rodents and squirrels.

A total of 367 wildfires are burning in the state, most ignited by lightning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, and the U.S. Forest Service. That figure is down from a peak of roughly 1,500 fires just a few days ago.

Crews near the Pacific Coast Highway fought back flames from homes and historical landmarks Thursday, including the upscale Ventana Inn, which was surrounded by crackling, burning brush.

Several homes on a ridge near the cliffside inn burned the night before. At least 20 homes have been destroyed since the blaze broke out June 21. The fire was only 5 percent contained by Thursday evening.

Many Big Sur residents left after mandatory evacuation orders, but some chose to defy the authorities, staying behind to try to save their homes and businesses.

Kirk Gafill, general manager of the Nepenthe restaurant, said he and five employees were up all night trying to protect the cliffside restaurant his grandparents built in 1949. Wearing dust masks, the crew scrambled to stamp out embers, some the size of dinner plates, that were dropping from the sky.

In all, the wildfires have scorched more than 790 square miles (320 hectares) and destroyed at least 65 structures across northern and central California since June 20, according to Cal Fire.

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