SAN DIEGO—Firefighters battling 15 fires across Southern California got a break from slowing winds Wednesday, but major blazes burned unchecked for a fourth day after forcing the largest evacuation in California's modern history.
Some 1,300 homes have been lost in San Diego county, the most critical area, and an official estimated damages would exceed $1 billion.
"Based on initial estimates, just the homes damaged will be over $1 billion," Ron Lane, San Diego County emergency services director, told a news conference.
Two big fires merged in the county and covered more than 200,000 acres, half of the total burned area in California.
More than 500,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in California.
"We have several tremendous fires still going on," San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said Wednesday.
The Los Angeles County area showed major progress against blazes, and, although mountain fires continued to burn, firefighters expressed hope that Wednesday would be the turning point.
"The wind today, we hope, is not going to be nearly as drastic as it was yesterday," firefighter Jim Christian told local television.
Five facts about California wildfires:
• California's parched climate, often desiccated brush, and Santa Ana winds create the perfect recipe for wildfires. The Santa Anas begin in deserts to the east and rush erratically through mountain passes and canyons into Southern California communities.
• During Santa Ana conditions, fires can be easily ignited by nature, in the case of lightning, or by humans. Some are arson, while others can be sparked by machinery operated near dry brush, campfires or carelessly tossed cigarettes. Downed power lines also pose a fire hazard. Once the wildfires are whipped by the winds they spread quickly and are extremely dangerous and difficult to fight.
• " Fire Season" officially begins in early summer and lasts through October, though officials say that as the state suffers through cyclical drought conditions, they consider the season to be almost year-round in Southern California.
• The worst California wildfire of the past decade was the Cedar Fire in October of 2003, which killed 15 people and destroyed more than 4,800 structures, many of them houses, as it burned nearly 300,000 acres (121,400 hectares) in San Diego County.
• Earlier this year, Los Angeles firefighters battled major brush fires—one that blackened 817 acres (330 hectares) in the city's landmark Griffith Park and another that threatened the town of Avalon on Catalina Island, some 22 miles (35 km) off the coast. The Zaca fire burned through 240,000 acres (100,000 hectares) of Santa Barbara ranchland for two months over the summer.
'Major Disaster'
Despite the wide-scale devastation, loss of life has been minimal. One person was killed in San Diego Sunday, while four other deaths were reported among the evacuees.
Around 18 firefighters have been injured out of the 10,000 on the fire lines.
San Diego and federal authorities moved to organize the largest evacuation in largest evacuation in the state's recorded history, with the New Orleans debacle of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath heavy on their minds.
"We're going to make sure that this operation runs as smoothly as possible, given the size of this disaster," David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told NBC's Today Show.
President Bush Wednesday upgraded the fires in seven Southern California counties to a "major disaster", triggering extra federal help for families affected.
Fourteen thousand evacuees spent a second night at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, where the National Football League's San Diego Chargers play.
"I'm worried for my baby, my house, my kids, everything," said Ana Ramirez, 30 and pregnant, who was taking shelter at the stadium with her 4-year-old daughter.
Early Tuesday, the heavily populated northern part of the county continued at the mercy of the hot winds and flames, and new flare-ups were reported at the sprawling Marine base of Camp Pendleton, one of the largest in the United States and home to 60,000 people.
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