At least half a dozen raging wildfires spread through San Diego county today in what one observer is calling "a scene from Armageddon."

California governor Jerry Brown called the emergency on Wednesday after spreading wildfires raged through hundreds of acres of land, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.

Thanks to unseasonably hot and dry temperatures, the fires have been spreading rapidly, forcing evacuations of area schools, residences and businesses, including the Marine base and the Cal State San Marcos campus.

(And, according to an alert sent out earlier today by San Diego fire officials, there's also a "fire in your pants.")

The blazes are unusual, experts say, pointing to the speed with which they've spread and the fact that wildfires usually tend to peak toward the end of the summer.

"This is May, this is unbelievable. This is something we should see in October," Chief Michael Davis told FOX. "I haven't seen it this hot, this dry, this long in May."

Many local residents were given only minutes to pack and evacuate.

Fire officials said Wednesday that nine separate fires in the San Diego area burned through more than 9,000 acres.

"I think between this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon, things are going to get worse," meteorologist Philip Gonsalves told the LA Times. "Only because the conditions will be prolonged. But you can't get much worse than it is right now."

[images via AP]