US: With wind-driven flames threatening the densely populated areas near Los Angeles, firefighters battled again yesterday one of the most destructive and deadly wildfire outbreaks in Californian history.
The fires have killed 18 people, including two in Mexico, and destroyed more than 1,900 homes, state officials said.
From Ventura county north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border, 10 active fires burned more than 520,000 acres with firefighters using a respite from hot, dry conditions to try to damp down the blazes and contain them in bulldozed fire lines.
Forecasts showed possible decreasing temperatures accompanied by higher humidity and lighters winds in the coming 24 hours, conditions that firefighters said were their most effective tools against the blazes.
Yesterday at dawn, firefighters launched an aerial offensive on the 95,000-acre Simi Valley blaze, which damaged or destroyed 24 homes in Ventura county and threatened million-dollar estates in neighbouring Los Angeles county.
"We have a massive air strike under way now," Los Angeles county fire spokesman Mr Roland Sprewell said. "We feel cautiously optimistic that we will get this thing knocked out today. We taking full advantage of the cool temperatures and lack of winds."
He said firefighters were confident they could keep the fire's eastern edge from spilling into Los Angeles county, which so far has suffered little damage.
Aided by falling temperatures and rising humidity, firefighters in hard-hit San Diego county chased three blazes surrounding the city away from homes and worked to extinguish "hot spots", although the fire is still not contained.
"The weather is at least making a small turn in the right direction," said San Diego fire spokeswoman Ms Jan Shuttleworth. "If that trend continues, it will really be a big help."
Crews and equipment from Nevada and Arizona also began arriving yesterday, filling in the thinly stretched 72km fire line and relieving local crews who have worked round-the-clock shifts to contain the massive Cedar blaze, a fire started by a lost hunter trying to signal his partner.
At nearly 300,000 acres combined, San Diego county's Cedar, Otay and Paradise fires were southern California's largest and most deadly blazes - killing 12 people and believed to be a factor in the deaths of about two dozen others.
The fire torched more than 400 homes and forced evacuations of tens of thousands of residents, shutting down many countywide services and severing power to 72,000 homes, 30,000 of which still remained without electricity yesterday.
Fires in San Bernardino county, about 80km east of Los Angeles, destroyed more than 500 homes and killed four people.
President Bush has declared a state of emergency in four counties. The governor-elect, Mr Arnold Schwarzenegger, was travelling to Washington DC yesterday to meet congressional leaders and to seek the federal funds triggered by Mr Bush's declaration.