SAN DIEGO — High temperatures and fierce winds returned to Southern California on Tuesday, complicating efforts to control wildfires that have forced more than 500,000 people to flee.
The extent of the damage was widespread, with nearly 600 square miles burned. More than 1,800 homes were destroyed as the flames prompted the biggest evacuation in California history, from north of Los Angeles, through San Diego to the Mexican border.
Officials were left worried that the fires could march toward more populated areas along the Pacific Ocean.
"As long as the east wind continues to blow, that is the direction things are going," said Roxanne Provaznik, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "There are a lot of homes on that coastal community, so there is so much potential injury."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the flames were threatening 68,000 more homes.
"We have had an unfortunate situation that we've had three things come together: very dry areas, very hot weather and then a lot of wind," Schwarzenegger said. "And so this makes the perfect storm for a fire."
Firefighters conceded defeat on many fronts Tuesday. Unless the shrieking Santa Ana winds subside, and that's not expected for at least another day, fire crews say they can do little more than try to waitit out and react - tamping out spot fires and chasing ribbons of airborne embers to keep new fires from flaring.
President Bush declared a federal emergency for seven counties, a move that will speed disasterrelief efforts, and planned to visit the region Thursday, White House press secretary Dana Perino said.
In San Diego County, authorities placed evacuation calls to 346,000 homes, said Luis Monteagudo, a spokesman for the county's emergency effort. On the basis of census and other county data, 560,000 people were ordered to leave, said Ron Roberts, chairman of the San Diego Board of Supervisors.
By Tuesday evening, some 50,000 people in San Diego were being allowed to return to homes near the ocean as well as parts of the city of Poway, Roberts said. No homes were lost in these neighborhoods.
The number of injuries, meanwhile, grew to more than four dozen civilians and firefighters.
The one person confirmed dead was identified as Thomas Varshock of Tecate, a town on the U.S. side of the border southeast of San Diego. He died over the weekend after he ignored warnings to evacuate and authorities left to take care of other evacuations, the San Diego County medical examiner's office said.
The medical examiner's office also listed four other deaths as connected to the wildfires because they occurred during or after evacuations. Three people were in their 90s and died from natural causes; the fourth was a woman who died after falling at a restaurant.
Deputies, meanwhile, arrested two men in connection with looting in the community of Ramona, and there were a handful of other looting cases reported, San Diego Sheriff's Lt. Mike McClain said.
Estimates of the monetary losses start in the tens of millions, and the cost of fighting the fires was expected to at least match that number.
FEDERAL RESOURCES
Because Bush declared Southern California a disaster area,federal troops and assets were starting to join the evacuation and firefighting effort. About 800 Marines from Camp Pendleton weremade available, while six C-130 specially modified cargo aircraft were being flown to California to help with firefighting.
Defense Department officials laid out a plan early in the week for what has already been provided - and more - but morehelp had not been requested from the state, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense Paul McHale said.
"Whatever it takes to deal with this fire and its aftermath, we're prepared to stand with the citizens of California and the governor to provide that," Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said at a Pentagon news conference with McHale.
Both said the idea is to be forward-leaning, particularly in light of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
"One of the lessons that we, as a nation, learned is that in a crisis, you don't wait to be asked; you lean forward, you prepare your capabilities and you ask, very pointedly, 'How can I help?'" said McHale, who noted that other agencies, not the Pentagon, were criticized for the hurricane response. "And that's a different mind-set. It's a sense of urgency."
Speaking in Washington before he headed west to tour the disaster area, Homeland SecuritySecretary Michael Chertoff said he met with Bush on Tuesday morning. "He has instructed everyone in the federal government to move as rapidly and fully as possible," Chertoff said.
Perino also announced that Bush was convening a Cabinet meeting this morning for a briefing from Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator R. David Paulison and Chertoff.
10,000 AT STADIUM
Jerry Sanders, mayor of San Diego, sent out an urgent plea for volunteer doctors and nurses at Qualcomm Stadium, where upward of 10,000 people were staying. National Guard troops were deployed to the stadium and the Del Mar Fairgrounds, another evacuation spot. Other troops were to fan out into neighborhoods, Sanders said.
In Rancho Santa Fe, a suburb north of San Diego, houses burned just yards from where fire crewsfought to contain flames engulfing other properties. In the mountain community of Lake Arrowhead, cabins and vacation homes went up in flames with no fire crews in sight.
"These winds are so strong, we're not trying to fight this fire," said firefighter Jim Gelrud, an engineer from Vista, Calif. "We're just trying to save the buildings."
Fire crews were especially concerned about dense eucalyptus groves in Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe, fearing the highly flammable trees could turn neighborhoods prized for their secluded serenity into potential tinderboxes.
The usual tactic is to surround a fire on two sides and try to choke it off. But with fires whipped by gusts that have surpassed 100 mph, that strategy doesn't work because embers can be swept miles ahead of the fire's front line. In those cases, crews must keep 10 feet to 30 feet back from the flames or risk their own lives, Los Angeles County firefighter Daryl Parish said.
Any flame longer than 8 feet is considered unstoppable, and even water and fire retardant will evaporate before they reach the ground, said Gordon Schmidt, a retired U.S. Forest Service deputy director of fire management.
"In these situations, the strategy generally is to fall back," he said.
At least three times in the past two days, fire crews have been forced to "pull off, and wait for things to calm down" because of danger, said San Bernardino National Forest Ranger Kurt Winchester.
"In a lot of places, you just have to back off and let the fire go," he said. "There's nothing we can do." Information for this article was contributed by Tami Abdollah, Tony Perry, Michael Muskal and Jean-Paul Renaud of the Los Angeles Times; by Jennifer Steinhauer, Randal C. Archibold, Will Carless, Ana Facio Contreras, Larry Dorman, Regan Morris, Marc Lacey, Kirk Johnson and John Holusha of The New York Times; and by Allison Hoffman, Gillian Flaccus, Chelsea J. Carter, Jeremiah Marquez, Daisy Nguyen, Thomas Watkins, Martha Mendoza, Jacob Adelman, Elliot Spagat, Scott Lindlaw, Pauline Arrillaga, Jennifer Loven and Pauline Jelinek of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 1, 10 on 10/24/2007