(TNS) - Firefighters, aided by calming weather and additional crews on the front lines, made significant progress Tuesday on three major Bay Area infernos that were sparked by lightning last week. 

Some residents of Napa and Sonoma counties were allowed to return home following two days of favorable conditions that allowed firefighters to increase containment of the massive LNU Lightning Complex fires to 27%.

The LNU has burned 356,326 acres and is among a swarm of storm-triggered blazes that have charred more than 1.25 million acres statewide since Aug. 15, according to Daniel Berlant, a Cal Fire assistant deputy director.

But as the flames die down, the uncertainty will linger. Weather forecasts portend more intense heat this weekend, baking portions of the Central Valley. Thunder storms projected to hit areas north of Lake Tahoe Tuesday and Wednesday could bring more lightning and the threat of additional wildfires.

And fire season still has three months to go.

“The most overused word in 2020: ‘Unprecedented,’” Fremont Fire Chief Curtis Jacobson said during a briefing on Tuesday. “Unprecedented storms. Unprecedented fuels. Unprecedented fire loads. ... To our citizens, we ask that you be diligent and prepared.”

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