California Fires Leave Two Dead and Dozens of Homes Wrecked

Firefighters struggled last night to contain wildfires engulfing homes and property in Sylmar, southern California.

Two people have died and dozens of homes have been destroyed in the blazes, forcing thousands to evacuate.

Two fires in the San Fernando Valley, 20 miles north of Los Angeles, extended to 13,000 acres (50 sq km) after strong Santa Ana desert winds fanned the blazes the previous night. A third broke out early yesterday in Camp Pendleton, a US Marine base north of San Diego, burning 3,000 acres and forcing the evacuation of 1,400 homes. Further south, near the Mexican border, yet another fire led to the evacuation of 300 homes.

Two thousand firefighters battled the flames, aiming to stop the fires jumping across motorways and stretching to the Pacific Ocean, 18 miles away.

"We could have had an army there and it would not have stopped it," said the LA fire department chief, Mario Rueda. "Wind is king here - it's dictating everything we are doing."

The 5,300-acre Marek fire, in the San Fernando Valley, and the 5,000-acre blaze dubbed Sesnon, in Porter Ranch, started on Monday morning.

Authorities said more than three dozen mobile homes were destroyed in the Marek fire, and 19 structures, some homes, were destroyed by Sesnon. The Marek fire had been mostly contained.

One man told a local news channel he had been ready to evacuate: "We live in southern California. Fire, flood, drought, earthquake - those are the four seasons, right?"

The two fatalities happened on Monday. One was a homeless man living with his dog in a shack next to a motorway near the Angeles National Forest.

The second death occurred when a tow truck crashed into the back of a car, killing the driver as traffic stopped on a motorway to allow fire engines to pass.

The Santa Ana winds occur between October and February every year and pick up speed as they flow through the canyons.