Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- More than 250,000 people fled their homes in southern California as some of the state's worst wildfires, fueled by strong winds, scorched more than 100,000 acres and caused at least one death.
Twelve wildfires have burned more than 100,665 acres (40,739 hectares) from Santa Barbara to San Diego County near the Mexican border, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry.
Fires in northern San Diego County forced evacuations of 250,000 people, including communities with million-dollar homes. San Diego officials said the damage could be worse than the destruction caused four years ago by similar fires, which cost $1.1 billion and damaged 4,847 structures.
``This is nowhere near finished,'' said Chief Bill Metcalf, San Diego County area fire coordinator. ``It is worse than many of us imagined. We're seeing 100- to 200-feet flame lengths and truly explosive fire behavior.''
The fires also destroyed buildings in Malibu, where many movie stars have homes northwest of Los Angeles, and Lake Arrowhead, a mountain community northeast of Los Angeles. Roads and freeways near the affected areas were closed because of the fires or jammed with people fleeing.
California power-system operators declared an electricity transmission emergency after the wildfires disabled wires and required utilities to curtail supplies.
Aircraft sometimes were grounded because of high winds, said Patti Roberts, a spokeswoman for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's emergency office.
State of Emergency
``There are a number of fires that are zero-contained,'' Roberts said.
Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura, according to a statement on the state Office of Emergency Services' Web site. The proclamation allows the agency to deploy emergency staff, equipment and facilities and provide assistance to local governments, according to the statement.
The fires are ``beyond our capabilities,'' said San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Tracy Jarman. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said the Red Cross ``is maxed out.''
The governor ordered 1,500 National Guardsmen to assist in fighting the fires or provide logistics.
`Tragic Time'
``It's a tragic time for California,'' Schwarzenegger said after touring the affected areas. ``The conditions are really terrible.''
Most of the new blazes started yesterday, ``but they are already very widespread and are likely to spread quite rapidly,'' said Neena Saith, a catastrophe response analyst with Risk Management Solutions in London.
Paula Rosput Reynolds, chief executive officer of property insurer Safeco Corp., said the company was watching developments ``pretty closely.'' State Farm Mutual Insurance Co., the largest insurer of homes in the U.S., has received its first claim from a homeowner for fire damage, spokesman Fraser Engerman said.
Towns in northern San Diego being evacuated include Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Ramona and Escondido. Hewlett-Packard Co. evacuated employees from its printer-research facility located in northern San Diego county, spokesman Edward Woodward said.
Among those who evacuated was San Diego Charger LaDainian Tomlinson, the most valuable player last year in the National Football League, the Associated Press reported.
Rancho Santa Fe
Directly in the path of one of the fires is secluded, affluent Rancho Santa Fe, an exclusive residential community on rolling hills filled with eucalyptus trees, orchards, stables and riding trails.
Located about 5 miles inland from the ocean and about 15 miles northeast of the better-known coastal community of La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe was ranked by Forbes magazine last year as the second-most expensive postal code in the nation based on median sales price. The average sales price of a home there this month was $2.5 million, according to DataQuick real estate compilations.
``This fire will probably be the worst this county has ever seen, worse than the Cedar Fire,'' San Diego Sheriff Bill Kolender said, referring to the 2003 fire.
All schools in San Diego county are closed tomorrow.
Santa Ana Winds
Endangered animals like the California condor are being evacuated from the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The park should be safe because it is heavily irrigated and much brush has been removed, the San Diego Zoo said on its Web site.
Gusting Santa Ana winds carried embers as far as 2 miles (3 kilometers) to kindle new fires. Temperatures may surpass 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius). Some areas of southern California have received little more than an inch (2 centimeters) of rain since Jan. 1.
``Without a fire, this would be a windstorm. When you add in the fire, it's a firestorm,'' Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman said.
The fires are burning areas ranging from 50 acres to 30,000 acres, Berlant said. About 100 engines and 1,000 personnel were on the scene of each fire as firefighters were imported from northern California, Nevada and Arizona.
Firefighters Hurt
A civilian was killed and four firefighters were hurt in the San Diego-area blaze that destroyed ``multiple structures,'' Berlant said.
In the Malibu area, one of the buildings destroyed was Hodge Castle, a 10,500-square-foot (975-square-meter) landmark owned by philanthropist Lilly Lawrence, which overlooks the Malibu lagoon.
California power system operators told owners of electrical generators in the southern part of the state to defer any maintenance today to ensure availability from local power plants after wildfires disabled a transmission line.