Two Reported Dead in Californian Fires

Firefighters were battling two blazes 20 miles north-east of downtown Los Angeles last night, almost exactly a year after a series of wildfires swept southern California.

Two people were reported dead, several homes were destroyed and freeways closed during the evening rush hour as at least 1,200 residents made hurried evacuations from cities in the San Fernando Valley.

Officials predicted that the Santa Ana desert winds that had fanned the fires would pick up overnight, raising concerns that the two blazes could spread as far as Malibu and the Pacific Ocean.

The 5,300 acre Marek fire in the north-east corner of the San Fernando valley and the 5,000 acre Sesnon fire in Porter Ranch started early Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, 1,000 firefighters were combating the two blazes.

Helicopters dropped water on the fast-moving fires, while a lull in the winds in the mid-afternoon allowed authorities to use fixed-wing aircraft for a short time. Despite the measures, the fires were able to jump across an eight-lane freeway.

Authorities suggested that arson may have been behind the Sesnon fire, which caused the death of a homeless man living in a shack beside a freeway. If arson is confirmed, a homicide investigation will likely be launched.

The second death came in a car accident as traffic drove the wrong way on a freeway to escape the fire.

"We could have had an army there and it would not have stopped it," Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Mario Rueda said. "Wind is king here, it's dictating everything we are doing."

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the two areas affected by the fires.

"Winds are causing fire conditions to change by the hour, which is why it is so important that residents in the areas surrounding these wildfires heed warnings from public safety officials to evacuate," he said.

The winds, which were expected to gust up to 80mph overnight, caused smoke to spread across the area. By mid-afternoon air quality from the valley to the coast was poor, with the smell of smoke in the air. Some schools in the region kept children inside at recess times due to the poor air quality.

One man interviewed on the local NBC affiliate said that he had been prepared to evacuate.

"Hey, we live in southern California," he said, speaking through a smoke mask. "Fire, flood, drought, earthquake: those are the four seasons, right?"

The Santa Ana winds occur every year between October and February, picking up speed as the flow through the Southern California's canyons.

Officials anticipate that Monday night would mark the strongest winds. By Tuesday afternoon the main danger was expected to come from rising temperatures.

The fires in late October last year left eight people dead and destroyed some 2,000 homes. This summer 2,000 fires burned across the state.