If you've noticed over the past couple of days, it's smells a bit smoky, a bit ashy in Baghdad by the Bay. It seems, according to CBS 5, Northern California is suffering from about 950 wildfire right now.The top half of the state is, in essence, on fire. Yikes! So far, Carmel Valley residents have been forced from their homes due to the massive blaze in the Los Padres National Forest over in Monterey County, which is the largest blaze yet.

Overall, 58,000 acres have been torched over the past couple of weeks. Firefighters from Oregon and Nevada have been imported to help tame the blazes running rampant. What's more, 2,237 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmates have been let loose "to battle the Wild Fire in Solano and Napa counties, and other raging wildfires statewide." Double yikes! According to CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate:

Inmate firefighting crews and the custody staff who supervise them are a critical component of the state's coordinated effort to battle wildfires and to respond to other emergencies ... Right now, a total of 156 inmate firefighter crews from 42 conservation camps are assisting the state gain control of these devastating fires scattered primarily throughout Central and Northern California.

Only minimum-custody inmates, however, can participate in the program.

The fires sparked sue to dry weather and lightning strikes throughout the state. Seeing as how we're not "into the meat of the fire season at this point," this could signify a frightening and disastrous fire season this year.