California governor says wildfires are 'new normal'

California GovernorJerry Brown says deadly and destructive wildfires in winter are "the new normal."

Brown on Saturday toured Ventura County neighbourhoods ravaged by a weeklong wildfire that killed at least one person and destroyed hundreds of homes and other buildings.

At a news conference, Brown said drought and climate change mean California faces a "new reality" where lives and property are continually threatened by fire, at a cost of billions of dollars.

He added that gusty winds and low humidity are continuing and warned that there's a good chance of seeing "firefighting at Christmas."

He said it will take "heroic" efforts in the US and abroad to stem climate change and urged US lawmakers to pay more attention to dealing with natural disasters such as fires, floods and earthquakes.

Authorities say they've counted some 800 homes and other buildings destroyed by wildfires ravaging Southern California for the past week.

Six fires driven by gusty Santa Ana winds have torched neighbourhoods and rural communities from Ventura County north of Los Angeles all the way south to San Diego County.

TRT World's Mmalegabe Motsepe reports.

One person died in a car crash on Wednesday trying to escape the largest fire in Ventura County.

The fire also is burning toward a sanctuary for the endangered California condors in Los Padres National Forest.

The fire is the largest of six that have scorched Southern California. 

The fires from Ventura County to San Diego County have destroyed more than 500 buildings, killed dozens of horses and forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate.

On Friday, President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration allowing counties affected by the wildfires to receive federal assistance.