Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger thanked President Bush Thursday for federal assistance with state wildfires, as the two men conducted an aerial tour of scorched areas in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, near Redding in Northern California.

"Thanks to this great coordination, we have been able to obtain and utilize resources from the federal government, 40 states and a number of international partners," Schwarzenegger said in a press release. "We face more challenges in the hot and dry summer months ahead-as we help people put their lives back together and stay prepared for inevitable future fires-and I look forward to the President continuing to be our partner in this effort."

Though the bulk of the fires plaguing the state have been contained for now, experts fear that with California in a drought, the typical wildfire season in the fall could be catastrophic.

So far this year, California has had more than 2,000 fires that have burned more than 870,000 acres.

On June 28 and again on July 9, President Bush declared a state of emergency in 11 California counties, allowing federal resources to be directed toward containing wildfires in those counties.

Those resources have included funds for state and local firefighting agencies, 301 fire trucks, 12 fixed-wing aircraft and more than 3,500 personnel.

Bush was scheduled to attend a fundraiser for the Republican National Committee Thursday evening in Napa, and later depart from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield to Tucson, Ariz.

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