Bush to tour fire-ravaged areas today

Bush acknowledged the difficult days ahead as he left Washington.

"It's a sad situation," he said. "People have got a lot of anguish in their hearts, and they just need to know a lot of folks care about them."

Bush's planned three-hour aerial tour, with visits to burned neighborhoods and briefings with fire officials, is expected to highlight the availability of federal relief funds as a result of the president designating the firestorms a major disaster.

"There will be help for the people of California," Bush said.

The designation will allow fire victims to apply for federal grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.

The population at the biggest evacuation center, San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, was dwindling today as more evacuation orders were lifted. At dawn, officials estimated that fewer than 1,000 people remained, down from about 12,000.

On Wednesday night, San Diego police began broadcasting messages at the stadium that only fire victims were allowed in the relief center. About 1,000 people got up and left, officials said.

At shelters in San Bernardino County, evacuees were packing up or waiting anxiously for lists of homes that were lost and saved. Chaplains and counselors were on hand in many of the centers.

Investigators, meanwhile, were stepping up efforts to find arsonists suspected of setting some of the blazes, most notably the Santiago fire in Orange County, which has burned nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed 21 structures, including nine homes. A $70,000 reward was offered by the Orange County Fire Authority for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonist. A toll-free hotline -- (800) 540-8282 -- was set up to receive tips.

Although some fires remained largely untamed and several communities were threatened, the worst days of a terrible siege appeared to be over.

The overall toll this morning was 695 square miles burned and 1,609 homes destroyed, and more than 60 people injured, authorities said. Damages were estimated by the state Department of Insurance at more than $1 billion.