In photos: Deadly wildfires devastate California's wine country

More than 1,700 firefighters are battling 26 major wildfires across California, including in the heart of the wine country, where one mega-blaze claimed the lives of three people and forced thousands of others to evacuate this week.

The big picture: More than 8,100 wildfires have burned across a record 3.9 million-plus acres, killing 29 people and razing almost 7,900 structures in California this year, per Cal Fire. Just like the deadly blazes of 2017, the wine country has become a wildfires epicenter. Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma, and Shasta counties.

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A building and vineyard in Calistoga damaged by the Glass Fire on Sept. 30. Smoke from this blaze has resulted some of the worst air quality in the world from this community to San Francisco, some 86 miles away. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Glass Fire in Napa County burns on a mountainside with the Beckstoffer Vinyards in the foreground in St. Helena Sept. 28. Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Homeowner Tom Smith walks away from the wildfire near his home on Platina Road in Igo on Sept. 27, after the Zogg Fire that killed the three people went from 400 acres to 7,000 acres in a matter of hours. Photo: Allison dinner and Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images

The Shady Fire quickly spreading over the mountains while closing in on Santa Rosa, on Sept. 28. Its flames have damaged or razed "hundreds of homes, businesses, resorts and wineries," per CBS. Photo: Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images

PG&E crews work to clear downed power lines along Silverado Trail Sept.29 as the wildfire burns east of Calistoga. The energy provider cut power to 3,100 more customers in Napa County at firefighters' request, per the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Photo: Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

The remains of a warehouse at the Castello di Amorosa winery on Sept. 29, razed by the Glass Fire in Napa Valley. Fires are burning across parts of the wine country that have "had no fire history going back 70 years," the Los Angeles Times notes. Photo: Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images

A local man wets down hot spots near a home in Calistoga on Sept. 29, when all 5,000 residents of the entire town have been ordered to evacuate. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Last night a Shasta County Sheriff cruiser was crushed by a falling tree in the burned area. Thankfully both Deputies are uninjured; the cruiser was totaled. This is why the public is not allowed to enter closed areas until cleared for safety. #zoggfire @CALFIRESHU @211Norcal pic.twitter.com/dSgLZVRv9y

— Shasta Co. Sheriff (@ShastaSheriff) September 30, 2020

It's Wednesday, but feels like Monday. More from the fire line, both north and west of Calistoga on Mt. St. Helena and Sharp Road in Sonoma County. https://t.co/b8GRpdtFBZ @NorthBayNews #cafires pic.twitter.com/hlaVB4B0us

— Kent Porter (@kentphotos) October 1, 2020

This is #MutualAid🙌 Today CA welcomed 165 #Texas firefighters @SacIntlAirport as they begin a 2-week assignment supporting wildfire response. As we welcome them, we thank the team that’s headed home. Thank you @SouthwestAir for safely transporting these firefighters! @texasgov pic.twitter.com/QCs6qo0kmO

— Cal OES (@Cal_OES) September 29, 2020

Taking in the destruction of the #GlassFire Tuesday afternoon in the upper reach of Sonoma County. @NorthBayNews pic.twitter.com/5tqBbKfSwm

— Kent Porter (@kentphotos) September 30, 2020

Editor's note: This article has been updated with the latest details from the fires.