4 more bodies found after So. California fires

Evacuees return home
The Santa Ana winds that had fueled the flames were all but gone by Thursday, but San Diego County remained a tinderbox. About 24,000 homes remained threatened, as several major fires were no more than 30 percent contained in San Diego County and the Lake Arrowhead mountain resort area in mountains east of Los Angeles.

Losses total at least $1 billion in San Diego County alone, and include nearly 1,500 homes and a third of the state’s avocado crop. The losses are half as high as those in Southern California’s 2003 fires, but are certain to rise.

Some evacuees were being allowed back into their neighborhoods, and shelters were emptying. Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, which sheltered more than 10,000 people at the height of the evacuations, had just 2,500 people left Thursday morning. It was scheduled to close at noon on Friday.

Towns scattered throughout the county remained on the edge of disaster, including the apple-picking region around Julian, where dozens of homes burned in 2003. Authorities also evacuated Jamul, an upscale community of about 6,000 in a hilly region about 20 miles east of San Diego.

David and Brandy Hradecky, who defied evacuation orders with their daughters, said a small percentage of residents stayed in Jamul and worked with firefighters to save their neighbors’ homes.

David Hradecky said he spent 2½ days using his bulldozer to create firebreaks around seven homes. He said his young daughters even used 5-gallon buckets to put out hot spots and quench the thirst of farm animals that had been left behind.

“Where are you going to go? They were evacuating the evacuee places. We know what to do. We took care of all the people’s houses,” said Brandy Hradecky.

Persistent blazes
To the north, crews were battling a 35,000-acre fire in northern San Diego County that was burning on Palomar Mountain.

Fred Daskoski, a spokesman for the state fire department, said there was no immediate threat to the mountain’s landmark observatory, which housed the world’s largest telescope when it was completed in 1908.

In the Lake Arrowhead area, fire officials said 16,000 homes remained in the path of two wildfires that had destroyed more than 300 homes.

Both fires remained out of control, but were being bombarded by aerial tankers and helicopters.

A 23,000-acre blaze in Orange County has been declared arson. Five people in San Diego, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties have been arrested on suspicion of arson, but none has been linked to any of the major blazes, authorities said Thursday.

A sixth man, Russell Lane Daves, 27, of Topock, Ariz., was shot to death by San Bernardino police Tuesday after he fled officers who approached to see if he might be trying to set a fire.

The American Red Cross has set up a service for evacuees to register their status and for loved ones to search for evacuees. Either call 1-800-REDCROSS or go to disastersafe.redcross.org . Click here for more information on how you can help.

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