The firestorms burning across California reached the third day on Tuesday and determined the local authorities to carry out the largest evacuation in the state's history
as hundreds of thousands of inhabitants fled from the danger area.

The firestorm, aided by stiff Santa Ana winds across the region recently hit by drought, led to the destroying of an estimated 1,250 homes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

US President, George W Bush, declared the state of emergency and approximately 340,000 households had been ordered to evacuate making this evacuation the largest in California’s history. It was also the largest evacuation since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but this time the government response was a lot faster and more efficient.

In accordance with the sayings of a White House official who spoke with Deutsche Presse-Agentur, President Bush plans to visit the fire-struck region on Thursday.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was also forced to declare the state of emergency and mobilized all the state’s resources against the "perfect firestorm", as he labeled it.

Hundreds of reservists were called Tuesday by the US military to help fight the terrible firestorm. The army also sent planes and helicopters to California, according to Assistant Defence Secretary Paul McHale.

TV pictures showed pictures of fire-struck San Diego suburbs, most of them reduced to burning debris. Larry Himmel, a television reporter for the KFMB, broadcasted live from outside his own Rancho Bernardo home as it went up in flames.

"On any given day I would say welcome to my home. This is what is left of my home. We did what we could but this was a living hell coming over the hill," Himmel said while in the background his house was burning.

There were reported at least two fatalities because of the fire storm and four more died during the evacuations. The toll of the injured people reached 40; three of them are firefighters, who suffered critical burns.

According to the weather forecast, the high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds would continue at least until Wednesday.