Red Flag to Be Lowered Over SoCal Fires

Santa Ana conditions began to break down Wednesday as firefighters slowly turned the tide on more than a dozen wildfires rampaging across Southern California.

The National Weather Service said it expected to lift the red-flag advisories for the inland areas at dusk as winds subside and humidity levels climb.

Evacuation orders were lifted in several communities between the Mexican border and the northern reaches of Los Angeles. Federal and state officials began the process of tallying the damage and setting up assistance locations for residents who lost their homes.

The fires have blackened more than 400,000 acres and destroyed an estimated 1,500 homes, although the tally will likely rise as damage assessment teams gain access to burned-out neighborhoods. Two people died as a direct result of the fire and four senior citizens died in the evacuation process.

U.S. President George Bush declared the region a disaster area on Wednesday.

The fires were far from over even though the slowly modifying weather and an influx of personnel and aircraft bolstered the firefighting effort.