Wildfires continue to spread in southern California and other parts of the Southwest amid a record-setting heat wave. 

On Monday, plumes of smoke from two fires were visible from downtown Los Angeles. 

By Tuesday morning, several hundred people had been evacuated from the foothill suburbs of Los Angeles as two blazes threatened to merge into one larger fire. 

Record heat contributed to the wildfires, as did a severe drought that continues in California and other neighboring states