17 Dead As California Wildfires Spread

Tens of thousands of people were made to evacuate their homes in southern California yesterday as 11 separate wildfires continued to burn. The state's outgoing governor, Gray Davis, described some of the areas as a "war zone".

A total of 17 people are now thought to have died in the fires which continue to burn from inside northern Mexico to Ventura County in southern California.

More than 1,600 homes and 2,000 sq miles have now been wiped out by the blazes which authorities hope to have contained by the weekend.

Schools, colleges and businesses in southern California have been closed, while electricity supplies have been disrupted and every airport in the area has been affected by delays or cancellations.

President George Bush yesterday sent a message of sympathy to those who had lost relatives or property in the fires and promised federal aid to deal with the damage.

In the San Diego area, where nine people have already died, the fires continued to wreak havoc. The city's mayor, Dick Murphy, described the fire as "the worst in San Diego's history".

In some areas, flames leapt as high as 30 metres (100ft).

About 10,000 firefighters, assisted by members of the armed forces and the National Guard, continued to fight fresh blazes in what has been the worst outbreak of wildfires in more than a decade.

Arson is suspected in two of the main fires, and police yesterday warned that those responsible could face the death penalty if people died in the blazes started deliberately, regardless of whether that was the intention of the arsonist.

New brush fires closed roads in the southern part of California even though the hot winds that had been fanning the flames had given way to cooler conditions. Officials warned that the situation was still fraught with danger.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's governor-elect, was in Washington yesterday trying to drum up financial support for those affected by the fires.