California, Shawwal 29, 1437, August 03, 2016, SPA -- Drought conditions in California risk stoking new and ongoing wildfires as the season enters its peak, a forecaster said on Wednesday after several blazes already killed at least six people and charred thousands of acres so far this year, Reuters reported. The warning came as 5,500 firefighters battled a wildfire near the Big Sur coast, a well-known tourist destination. Dubbed the Soberanes Fire, it has scorched some 44,000 acres (17,800 hectares) and dozens of homes in the area, fire officials said. Little rain and the strong, dry Santa Ana winds will likely stoke more wildfires as the peak of the wildfire season begins, AccuWeather said. The wildfire season officially begins in May and stretches into September. The Soberanes Fire began on July 22 and was sparked by an illegal, unattended camp fire in a section in Garrapata State Park that was closed to camping, the U.S. Forest Service said on Tuesday. No arrests have been made, the service said. Fire personnel battling the blaze have been able to draw containment lines - a measure of how much of its perimeter has been cleared by fire crews of unburned vegetation - around only 25 percent of the wildfire so far. --SPA 15:49 LOCAL TIME 12:49 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w