Ted and Kate Stefani, meanwhile, vowed to return and rebuild.

Video they shot showed a giant hole where their home once stood. All that remained was one stray column from near their front door plus a charred seat from which they'd first spotted flames in the distance.

"We're going to rebuild there. We love that block, we just love that community. ... And it's our home," Ted Stefani said.

All told, 52 active fires across the country have claimed 901,215 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

So far in 2012, the agency has tracked 27,176 fires that have burned nearly 1.9 million acres, the agency said.

In 2011, when wildfires raged across much of Texas, 35,574 fires burned 4.7 million acres, according to the agency.