ALMOST 1 million people in California have been evacuated as a result of more than a dozen wildfires that were scorching across a region from north of Los Angeles to the U.S.-Mexican border.

Firefighters in southern California are facing wind-whipped walls of flame from 16 wildfires that have erupted since Sunday and scorched more than 400,000 acres (162,000 hectares), destroying some 1,300 homes and causing at least US$100 million in damage.

The blazes have killed six people and injured at least 70 more, including 34 firefighters, authorities said yesterday.

The fires are the worst to hit California since 2003 when 22 people were killed and more than 3,000 homes destroyed.

Firefighters were aided by resources from Mexico, the state and federal governments and even inmates from California’s prisons.

San Diego Fire Department Battalion Chief Bruce Cartelli described scenes of “utter devastation” with hundreds of homes lost and “many hundreds” of others damaged.

“It’s probably the worst significant event in my career of 36 years,” he said.

Forecasters said yesterday the Santa Ana winds will begin to weaken late Wednesday afternoon, followed by cooling sea breezes.

Officials have evacuated nearly 350,000 homes in San Diego County alone, where the worst of the fires are blazing. Using U.S. Census Bureau numbers from the 2000 census, that could mean as many as 950,000 were affected by the fires.

In San Diego County, at least half a million residents had been ordered to find refuge in shelters, schools and stadiums as fires pushed into new areas.

Among the evacuees as more than 4,000 military personnel from several bases in the area.

With the winds pushing them across the area, the fires spread quickly, forcing some residents to flee in the middle of the night.

U.S. President George Bush is scheduled to visit the area today, the White House said. Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, arrived in San Diego on Tuesday afternoon for a “first-hand look” at the devastation.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was “heartbroken” after touring the Lake Arrowhead area, where the Grass Valley and Slide fires have burned 5,000 acres and destroyed more than 200 homes.

The combination of dry terrain, searing heat and hammering winds had created “the perfect storm for fire,” the governor said.

Of San Diego County’s 10 major fires, the Witch fire in the north, which has grown to 200,000 acres, is the priority because of its significant threat to structures, said Ron Lane, the county’s director of emergency services. The Harris fire had burned more than 70,000 acres by mid-morning.

In northern Los Angeles County, the Ranch, Buckweed, and Magic fires have charred more than 93,000 acres and fire officials fear they could merge.

The 54,500-acre Ranch fire was only two miles away from the 1,200-acre Magic fire. The blazes are straddling the L.A.-Ventura County line.

Eleven Defense Department helicopters equipped with water buckets and more than 17,000 National Guardsmen were available, along with six C-130 aircraft able to drop water and flame retardant on the flames. But aerial attacks on the fires have been limited by the fierce Santa Ana winds.

The Red Cross and other groups also were in the wings. They and some other groups were waiting for the flames to die down before bringing in their volunteers. The Red Cross has set up 11 shelters in the area and housed 3,000 people Monday night. More were expected Tuesday.

(SD-Agencies)