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| Wind lull calms California fires |
| Firefighters in southern California are taking advantage of a break in the weather to contain the remaining major wildfires near San Diego.
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 27-October-2007
2:56:59 AM |
| The warmer winds that fuelled the fires earlier in the week are expected to return on Sunday.
As the threat from the fires has eased, thousands of evacuees have been able to leave shelters, some to find their homes piles of blackened rubble.
At least 14 people have died as a result of the fires.
'War zone'
Damage in San Diego county alone is estimated at about $1bn (£487m) with nearly 800 sq miles (2,072 sq km) of land scorched.
At least 1,800 homes and other buildings have been destroyed by the flames.
In San Diego, where more than 500,000 people were evacuated, emergency officials said they were focussing on moving people back to their homes.
sports stadium that sheltered 10,000 evacuees at the height of the fires was closing on Friday.
It could take several days for some people to return to their homes as roads and bridges in the burnt areas have to be checked for structural damage, says the BBC's Richard Lister in San Diego.
One man returned to his house in suburban San Diego to find it was one of 30 on the street consumed by the flames.
"It's just totally wiped out. All the trees are black... It just reminded me of Vietnam. It just reminded me of a war zone," the Vietnam war veteran told Reuters news agency.
The authorities have set up crisis centres to help people deal with insurance claims or apply for federal assistance, says our correspondent.
Change in weather
President George W Bush visited the devastated areas on Thursday and said the federal government would provide every help to victims of the fires.
While, in the Los Angeles area, many wildfires were almost out, several major fires still burned in Orange and San Diego counties putting thousands of homes at risk.
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