The toll from one of the worst fires in California history rose Wednesday to more than 1,000 homes destroyed and another 200 damaged.
As fire crews battled the blaze near the city of Redding, 600 kilometers (375 miles) northeast of San Francisco, Governor Jerry Brown told journalists he would send “whatever resources are needed” to help.
Only one month into the new budget year, California has already spent $130 million fighting blazes — one-quarter of its annual fire budget.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said another 440 buildings, including barns and warehouses, have also been destroyed by the fire, which is now the sixth most destructive in state history.
The weather forecast of high temperatures and dry conditions is making the fight to contain the blaze more difficult. But firefighters have managed to contain 35 percent of the deadly blaze, which has killed six people.
Farther south, a new fire erupted late Tuesday to threaten the town of Covelo, near the Mendocino National Forest.
That fire is only about 64 kilometers (40 miles) north of where twin fires in Mendocino and Lake counties have burned an area nearly three times the size of San Francisco, destroyed 10 homes and threatened 12,000 more.
National Park Service officials said Tuesday that the scenic Yosemite Valley and other areas would be closed at least through Sunday because of heavy smoke from the Ferguson Fire. The closure began July 25.
It’s the longest closure at Yosemite since 1997, when floods closed the park for over two months. (VOA News)
