California Governor Jerry Brown offered his sympathy Thursday to the victims of wildfires that are ravaging the state, and will visit the effected areas soon, as the death toll hit a new high of 29, local media reports said.

The reports quoted his spokesman Evan Westrup as saying that the governor intends to travel to the fire zones, but not immediately so that his visit doesn't take away from critical resources needed to combat the blaze.

"Our focus is on getting resources where they're needed most, not pulling them away for photo-ops with the governor," Westrup said.

Twenty-two blazes are ravaging primarily across eight counties in Northern California, spawning one of the most devastating fire disasters in the state's history.

"We aren't in any way finished. Some places are beginning to be contained. But the fires are burning and the winds can come up. They aren't as calm as we would like them to be. The next couple days are very serious for California," Brown said.

Over 8,000 firefights are combating the blazes mainly in the Bay area of western California, but gusty winds and low humidity expected in the coming days will continue to challenge the firefighters efforts towards containment and will increase the risk for new fires.

At least 3,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed and more than 190,000 acres have burned since the fires ignited late Sunday, the media reports said.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News

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