California Wildfires Kill At Least 13, Destroy Hundreds of Homes

Fueled by the strong Santa Ana winds, six major fires and many smaller blazes stretching from the Mexican border to the suburbs north of Los Angeles have burned over 300,000 acres, roughly half the size of Rhode Island.

Thousands of residents in the area have fled their homes, with little warning or notice to collect their belongings before evacuating.

Gov. Gray Davis declared states of emergency in San Bernardino, Ventura, San Diego and Los Angeles counties, as the fires closed major highways and roads, and disrupted air travel nationwide. Davis also asked President Bush to declare a federal disaster area for much of Southern California, opening the way for federal assistance.

Despite the intense efforts of over 7,000 firefighters, Monday’s forecast of hotter temperatures and strong, dry winds are expected to fuel the Southern California wildfires.

Officials warned Monday the blaze in the Simi Valley area was heading south toward the residential Bell Canyon area, endangering about 24,000 homes.

On the northwest outskirts of Los Angeles County, flames merged to create a 80,000-acre fire, threatening an upscale neighborhood of some 2,000 homes and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, officials said late Sunday.

Around the suburbs of San Bernardino, a city of about 200,000 residents some 50 miles east of Los Angeles, one flank of the 80,000-acre fire burned through four towns while another flank destroyed more than 450 homes.

The 30-mile fire front in the San Bernardino area formed after the two smaller blazes merged Sunday, covering the region with thick smoke and ash. Some 40,000 people have fled their homes.

The San Bernardino County blaze torched another 25 homes when it skipped over a road and moved into the heavily forested town of Crestline, according to Candace Vialpando, a fire information officer of the U.S. Forest Service.

Further south, in San Diego’s affluent Scripps Ranch area, wildfires rapidly devoured million-dollar homes as though they were nothing more than canyon brush.

Another fire near San Diego that apparently started Sunday killed two people and destroyed 57 homes while burning about 15,000 acres, authorities said. The blaze also triggered evacuations in northeastern Escondido.

In San Diego County, the so-called “Cedar Fire” — the state’s largest wildfire at roughly 100,000 acres — has killed at least nine people and destroyed some 260 homes since Saturday. San Diego County has been the hardest hit region from the deadly wildfires.

Authorities are seeking two men they say may have started one of the two San Bernardino fires. One man was seen Saturday morning throwing something into roadside brush that caught fire, then he and a companion fled in a van.

President Bush assured Californians Monday that the government was ready to provide assistance to the state.

“This is a devastating fire, and it’s a dangerous fire. And we’re prepared to help in any way we can,” Mr. Bush told reporters at the White House. “The federal government will provide all resources necessary, at the request of the state, to work and fight these fires.”