More than 650 homes burn as wildfires ravage California

SAN BERNADINO, Calif. -- Flames stoked by powerful winds raced through Southern California on Sunday, growing to more than 208,000 acres, destroying 650 homes in densely populated suburbs and causing at least 13 deaths.

At least nine people were killed in the state's largest fire in eastern San Diego, including two who died inside their car as they apparently tried to escape the flames, San Diego Sheriff Bill Kolender said.

The 100,000-acre fire started Saturday near the mountain town of Julian when a lost hunter set off a signal fire, authorities said. The hunter was detained and may face charges.

One man was killed and 20 homes were destroyed by another fire near San Diego that broke out Sunday and burned about 1,000 acres, said Lora Lowes of the California Department of Forestry.

New fires were sparked when embers were blown by fierce Santa Ana winds, with gusts up to 70 mph.

In the congested suburbs of San Bernardino, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, one flank of a 50,000-acre fire burned through four towns while the other flank destroyed more than 300 homes.

Two men collapsed and died, one as he was evacuating his canyon home and the other as he watched his house burn, the county coroner said.

The 30-mile fire in the San Bernardino area was formed when two smaller fires merged, covering the region with thick, gagging smoke and ash.

Other fires on the outskirts of Los Angeles County merged to create a 47,150-acre fire that threatened 2,000 homes in four communities and closed four highways, sealing off access to two mountain towns, fire spokeswoman Michele Alcorn said.

Firefighters, including 25 strike teams and 125 engines, were making a stand at Crestline, U.S. Forest Service fire information officer Stanton Florea said.

"If the fire starts to crown, racing from one tree to the next, it will be an extreme situation," Florea added.

The area is packed with millions of dead trees, left to rot by drought and an infestation of bark beetles.

Brandy DeBatte, 21, stayed at her Crestline home until the electricity went out and the smoke started to thicken.

"I got our animals. I got insurance papers. I didn't want to be up there if the town was going to burn down," she said.

Hours later, she was having second thoughts as she realized how much she had left behind.

"I should have gotten more out, and I didn't," she said.

Gov. Gray Davis, who visited the San Bernardino fire on Friday, planned a second trip Sunday to announce that he was extending the state of emergency to Los Angeles and San Diego counties, said his spokesman, Steve Maviglio.

Some of the ordered evacuations included Indian reservation casinos, California State University, San Bernardino, where fire burned two temporary classrooms and a temporary fitness center, and Patton State Hospital, home to 1,300 mental patients.

Three looters were arrested in San Bernardino, police said.