SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A charity concert has raised about 23 million U.S. dollars for the victims of devastating wildfires that had raged through the U.S. western state of California last month, local media reports said Friday.

The concert, themed Band Together Bay Area, was held at an open-space stadium here Thursday night.

The sold-out event drew more than 40,000 people to the ballpark. Some 6,500 tickets were donated to first responders and victims of the areas that were hardest hit by the fires.

The concert's organizers were quoted as saying that more money is expected to come in as they continue to count money raised by selling merchandise and streaming the concert online via social media outlets such as Twitter and YouTube.

The funds would be used to "provide short-, intermediate- and long-term relief for low-income families, immigrants and other victims," an official of a charity organization said.

The concert is part of a series of campaigns called by local charity organizations to raise money for the wildfire victims.

The massive wildfires, which California Governor Jerry Brown called the most lethal and destructive disaster in the history of California, erupted on Oct. 8 and quickly swept Northern California counties last month.

A total of 43 people, including a 14-year-old boy and a firefighter, were killed by the blazes. At least 8,900 structures, including homes and business facilities, were destroyed and over 245,000 acres burned, with the total loss possibly amounting to billions of U.S. dollars.