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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven counties, with 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares) burnt from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

In Malibu, a large blaze forced stars including film director James Cameron and Olivia Newton-John to flee.

Officials say the ground is tinder dry after a record summer heatwave.

"The wildfires have caused the loss of human life and serious injuries," Mr Schwarzenegger's office said.

In seaside Malibu, several buildings were destroyed and thousands of local residents evacuated as flames swept across the hills overlooking the ocean.

Fanned by winds of up to 80mph (130km/h), the wildfire around Malibu had burnt about 1,250 acres (505 hectares) by mid-afternoon on Sunday (2200 GMT Sunday), officials said.

That fire is thought to have been caused by a power cable that ignited after being blown over in heavy wind.

As much as i fell really bad and my heart goes out to the peole loosing there homes my intial reaction to the celeberity house map is who gives a chit there are alot of non celeberties loosing there homes and family hierlooms so if pams house burns down is it more important if mr smith looses his , sometimes the news just sucks

*nods to kingtony*





A brush fire fuelled by strong winds and dry vegetation in the hills above Los Angeles has been largely contained, say fire officials.

More than 190,00 people are without power in the city and its surrounding areas due to the fire.

Winds of up to 50mph (80km/h) fanned fires near the city's most exclusive residential areas of Beverly Hills.

One multimillion dollar home was gutted by the blaze and three others were badly damaged.

A mild, dry winter has left Southern California, an area where fires are already a regular occurrence, even more prone to wildfires.

About 200 firefighters are tackling the blazes on the southern face of the Santa Monica mountains using helicopters to douse water on the flames.

as a home owner i would be devated i cant express enough the feeeeling they must be going throught i wish them the best and hope all works out for them

Honestly, when you live here for a while it begins to be like earth quakes. I'm not saying that it doesn't suck for the people who lose there homes, just that you begin to think like; oh, there's another fire in the hills today.

To those in CA, stay safe guys! I've been watching and following the story, but they all keep focusing on the actors/actresses that have been evacuated. What about everyone else?

ally you are so right looks like all the newscaster bacame paparazzi it's a shame without thoses little people there are no actors n actresses

It was an ugly day today, but the fires are all about 40 miles away from me on any side.

*Update for other areas *

Echo of Katrina

Away from the relative peace of Malibu, residents in San Diego have a very different story to tell.

More than 300,000 homes have been evacuated in the county of San Diego alone, with 1,000 properties and 300 businesses destroyed. Many emergency evacuation centres are now full in San Diego, forcing some residents to travel to Orange County.

In scenes reminiscent of the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, 10,000 people have sought refugee inside the Qualcomm Stadium, home to the San Diego Chargers. Thousands more have set up camp in the car park.

Emergency shelters set up in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium on Tuesday
San Diego's stadium now offers shelter.

But unlike the Superdome experience of Katrina's victims, necessary food and aid arrived promptly with assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).

President Bush has promised any assistance necessary and will visit California on Thursday.


Every effort is being made to keep up the spirits of the evacuees. Music wafts through the air in place of smoke, and a number of magicians entertain giggling children with stories and magic tricks.

In the meantime, parents keep up-to-date on the latest news beamed from the stadium's big screen - more commonly used to show touchdowns than fire reports.



Health havoc

Displaced residents also make full use of the free telephone service to ease the concerns of worried family and friends and to connect with the outside world.

One San Diego resident arriving at the Qualcomm on Tuesday night said of the scene near his home: "It's crazy, we were surrounded by fire on both sides."

Others recounted scenes of raining ash and soot, blackening the skies and playing havoc with the health of those with heart and lung ailments.

As the blaze continues into another day, fire crews are hoping for respite. Some fires are beginning to be contained as helicopters and aircraft drop water and chemical fire retardants on out-of-control, tinder-dry brush.

Weather reports say the gusty Santa Ana winds fuelling the flames will subside by Wednesday afternoon and cooler temperatures are on the way.

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Also in San Diego county, a man died at the weekend after ignoring warnings to evacuate, officials say.

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

My mom has a friend out there. He's in an apartment and hasn't had to leave yet, but he says his balcony, car, and everything is covered in ash and soot. It's screwing up his air conditioning system too. So it seems like even if a place isn't getting burned, it will still need some repairs.

Wow, my son just got back home from Malibu, lucky timing for him.

Best wishes to all those in the affected areas!

Sorry but I can't hold my tongue on this.

I live in SoCal, born and raised here... I have the windows closed and the AC on because I was tired of choking on the smoke from the Lake Arrowhead fire.

I don't know what news anyone else is watching, but the news I watch hasn't been talking about the celebs. Here... celebs are just people like anyone else. Doesn't matter who you are or what you do... losing lives and homes is tragic for the haves and havenots equally.

Save the anti-celeb mindset for the next election... not when homes are burning.

Out.