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SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- President Bush boosted federal aid to fire-ravaged Southern California on Wednesday, signing a major disaster declaration as officials ordered new evacuations when winds shifted.

The declaration will speed federal dollars to people whose property losses aren't covered by insurance and will help local and state agencies pay for the emergency response.

Bush's action covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, where almost 1,500 homes have been destroyed as fires burned into a fourth day Wednesday.

Authorities ordered more than 900,000 people to evacuate their homes in the face of the fires. Although some got the OK to return to their communities Wednesday, others in inland San Diego County faced orders to leave as winds shifted, turning fires into new areas.

People returning to their homes, and those who had never left, were warned Wednesday morning to conserve electricity.

Officials said fires severed key connections to the regional power grid, creating what San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts called "a precarious situation."

The cost of homes destroyed by the wildfires is likely to top $1 billion in San Diego County alone, an emergency official said.

The possibility of further losses was real Wednesday.

The National Weather Service said a red-flag warning for extreme gusty winds was in effect for San Diego through 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) Wednesday.

Forecasters said firefighters should see an end to the Santa Ana winds that have fueled the fires by Thursday.

"It's all dictated by the weather," said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque. He called the combination of the driest conditions in 200 years and the Santa Ana winds "a recipe for disaster."

More than 20 fires have scorched 400,000-plus acres from the Mexican border to northern Los Angeles County and inland into the San Bernardino Mountains since the weekend.

The blazes have killed one person and injured at least 70 more. Thirty-four firefighters have been hurt, authorities said.

Firefighters received help from Mexico, the state and federal governments and even inmates from California's prisons. About 7,000 firefighters were battling the blazes, including 2,300 inmates from California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

As the fires burned, stress took its toll on evacuees, according to a U.S. Navy medic at Qualcomm Stadium, now a shelter to more than 12,000 people.

"A lot of people are watching TV while they're here -- they're watching their houses burn," Petty Officer Daniel Brautigam said. "People are just worried sick. That phrase alone explains it all."

Christie Williams, who lost a ranch in Ramona, said she takes strength from her 4-year-old daughter, who repeats after her mother: "We're strong people."

"So we're going to make it," Williams said.

And she said she'd rebuild her ranch, called Shangri La.

"It's my home. My kids took their first steps there. I can't just leave it," she said as tears filled her eyes. "I can't just walk away."

Bush is scheduled to visit the area Thursday, the White House said. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff arrived in San Diego on Tuesday for a look at the devastation.

Chertoff called federal efforts "phenomenally better" than the 2005 response to Hurricane Katrina "because we have been preparing and planning and training together for the last 2 ½ years."

Schwarzenegger on Tuesday 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 created "the perfect storm for fire," the governor said.

Chertoff said cots, blankets, water and other supplies have been moved where they are needed, and more are coming. FEMA delivered 25,000 cots to Qualcomm early Tuesday. See where the fires are burning »

In Los Angeles County, the fire situation was improving Wednesday. As of 9 a.m. PT (noon ET), state officials reported containment between 40 percent and 94 percent on the county's five active fires.

George W Bush has declared California a major disaster zone after four days of wildfires sparked the biggest US evacuation since Hurricane Katrina.

The fires have killed three people, injured 40 and burned 1,500 homes, causing an estimated $1bn in damage.

More than 500,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as fierce winds fan fast-moving fires that have ravaged land from Santa Barbara to Mexico.

Forecasters say winds are weakening, easing conditions for firefighters.

In some areas, wind speeds were down to 21-36 mph (34-58km/h), from highs of 100mph earlier in the week.

Federal aid

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the "great co-ordination" and "immediate response" of federal, state and local government agencies to the fires.


TACKLING THE FLAMES
Firefighters battle a blaze in California (24/10/07)
8,000 firefighters - including a number of prison teams
1,500 national guards
50 helicopters
55 firefighting planes
Source: Office of Emergency Services

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He also thanked President Bush for signing the disaster declaration, which will free federal funds to help governments, families and individuals recover from the devastation wrought by the blazes - at least 16 of which are still burning.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Bush declared a state of emergency in seven California counties. He will visit the state on Thursday.

"I will continue to make sure that our efforts are co-ordinated, and that we are responsive to the needs of people... we offer our prayers and hopes that all will turn out fine in the end," Mr Bush said.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (Fema), David Paulison, said the government had learnt its lesson after it was accused of a sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast two years ago.

"What we see now that we did not see during Hurricane Katrina is a very good team effort from the local, the state and the federal government and across the federal agencies," Mr Paulison said.

More than 400,000 acres (162,000 hectares) of land have been scorched - an area bigger than New York City - and 25,000 buildings are threatened.

Forestry officials say the seasonal Santa Ana winds are hampering their efforts to contain fires raging across the state, and high wind warnings are in effect for most of the region until Wednesday afternoon.


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In San Diego County, which has been hardest hit and where five blazes are still burning, the bill just from damage to homes will top $1bn (£500m), said San Diego County emergency services director Ron Lane.

Firefighters there have been working around the clock in difficult conditions.

"We've been faced with embers from that fire floating in the air a half-a-mile to three-quarters of a mile away from the fire, underneath people's roofs, on to their back yards, starting those things on fire," spokesman Maurice Luque told the BBC.

One San Diego firefighter, Mitch Mendler, said: "It was like Armageddon. It looked like the end of the world."

Mr Schwarzenegger thanked the firefighters for their tireless efforts.

"They are working 24 hours a day around the clock - and when I say 24 hours around the clock I mean the day only has 24 hours - but in fact many of them that I have met actually work 36 hours and 48 hours without stopping," he said.

Major evacuation

County officials placed evacuation calls to 346,000 homes, ordering about 560,000 people to leave - although some 50,000 were allowed to return late on Tuesday.


Satellite image shows the smoke from the California wildfires being blown out to sea

Enlarge Image

In Orange County, officials said the number of fires had stretched resources to breaking point.

More than 10,000 evacuees stayed overnight at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, while other residents sought shelter in schools, community centres and fairgrounds.

"I'm worried for my baby, my house, my kids, everything," Ana Ramirez, a 30-year-old pregnant woman who was taking shelter in the stadium with her four-year-old daughter, told Reuters news agency.

Ambulances and school buses moved hundreds of people from hospitals, nursing homes and prisons.

The blazes are the worst to hit California since 2003 wildfires that killed 22 people.