500,000 Forced to Flee California Wildfires Driven By Winds

More than 500,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in southern California as fierce winds fanned fires across the region from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border. Officials expect the total number of evacuees to reach 750,000 before the fires die down.

More than 1,000 homes were destroyed and 500,000 people evacuated in the San Diego area alone, while a second death was reported, following that of a Mexican migrant on Sunday.

Fires around the celebrity enclave of Malibu calmed yesterday as the focus of the multiple blazes moved to inland areas including tourist destinations such as Lake Arrowhead, where 160 buildings were destroyed. The neighboring town of Running Springs saw 100 homes gutted as winds whipped through the area.

After California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, declared a state of emergency on Monday, George Bush weighed in yesterday, announcing he would visit the region tomorrow, and declaring a federal state of emergency for seven counties in southern California, a move that will set in motion disaster relief efforts. "All of us across this nation are concerned for the families who have lost their homes and the many families who have been evacuated from their homes," Mr Bush said. "We send the help of the federal government."

California senator Dianne Feinstein called the federal response to the fires a test of whether the federal emergency management agency (Fema) "has gotten its act together post-Katrina", and most observers agreed that the agency had acquitted itself favorably. However, some residents in Orange and San Diego counties criticized the agency for being too slow to provide aerial support to fire crews.

More than 400 square miles of southern California had been overrun by 16 separate fires by Tuesday afternoon. Forecasters predicted winds that have propelled the fires would begin to weaken by the end of the day, but yesterday proved as hazardous as any since the outbreak began near Malibu Canyon early on Sunday. With temperatures pushing up towards 38C and winds gusting inland, authorities stressed that the fire still could spread.

Sam Padilla of the Los Angeles County fire department warned that it would be "premature" for residents to move back to the area, stressing that the winds could pick up an ember and swiftly ignite a new fire. Authorities expected full containment of the Malibu fire by Friday.

Residents were unable to return to evacuated homes, leaving luxury hotels across Los Angeles and Hollywood at capacity as they coped with the onslaught of homeless celebrities including actors Mel Gibson and Tom Hanks, studio chiefs including David Geffen, directors including James Cameron and evacuees from the celebrated rehab clinic Promises.