Dangerously hot conditions hit states up and down the West Coast over the weekend, owing to a persistent heat wave stretching from the Pacific Northwest to California and the desert Southwest.

Southern California should prepare for "dangerously hot" temperatures through Saturday, but elevated heat will persist into early next week.

Wildfires have cropped up in different regions across California over the past several days as a record-breaking heat wave blankets most of the state, with more fire activity expected amid a spate of dry lightning and thunderstorms.