California battles with 330 fires in last 24 hours: governor

Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/10/30 15:27:01

A firefighter works near Getty Center in Los Angeles, the United States, Oct. 28, 2019. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/Xinhua)


In the last 24 hours, Californian firefighters have responded to some 330 fires across the state, California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday afternoon at a press conference.

The update came as the latest Getty Fire in West Los Angeles forced 10,000 residents, including multiple celebrities living near Hollywood, to evacuate, and the Kincade Fire, which broke out northeast of Geyserville in Sonoma County on Wednesday night, continued to burn across Northern California.

At the time of the press conference held at the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), the Kincade Fire had burned more than 66,000 acres (267 square km), and was 5 percent contained, according to local media.

Fire is seen near Getty Center in Los Angeles, the United States, Oct. 28, 2019. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/Xinhua)


So far, there has been no report of any death in the wild fires that broke out over the past 24 hours, local media said.

Despite the high figures in the last 24 hours, Newsom said this year's fire season is not the worst in recent years, "though it may feel like it."

"We're entering the peak part of fire season that is very familiar to us in California, but not people out of state," Newsom said.

"Most people think about fire season as part of the summer ... I'll remind folks the Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire, in Northern and Southern California, occurred in the first week of November, so we are very vigilant in this moment. The winds are vexing and are the most (complex) part of this fire. But the good news is the winds are resting," he said.

Firefighters work near Getty Center in Los Angeles, the United States, Oct. 28, 2019. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/Xinhua)


 

Firefighters work near Getty Center in Los Angeles, the United States, Oct. 28, 2019. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/Xinhua)


Director of Cal OES Mark Ghilarducci said more than 10,000 personnel were working across the state to fight both the Kincade Fire and the Getty Fire.

Last year's Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire were both among the ten most devastating blazes in California's history, especially the Camp fire, which wiped out the town of Paradise in Butte County, killing 86 residents.

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