By Gillian Flaccus
The Associated Press

AP Photo/James Carbone Firefighters wait for water as a home burns in the Running Springs community near San Bernardino, Tuesday. FireRescue1 Slideshow

SAN DIEGO — The devastating wildfires in Southern California have caused at least $1 billion in damage in San Diego County alone, officials said Wednesday, while firefighters hoped easing wind would give them an advantage in stopping the flames.

The fires, now in their fourth day, have destroyed 1,500 homes and caused at least a half-million people to flee — the largest evacuation in state history. At least 1,200 of the damaged homes were in San Diego County.

"Clearly, this is going to be a $1 billion or more disaster," Ron Lane, San Diego County's director of emergency services, told reporters during a news conference.

The announcement of San Diego's staggering losses came as President Bush signed a major disaster declaration for California in the wake of wildfires that have burned about 410,000 acres, or 640 square miles.

The declaration puts in motion long-term federal recovery programs to help state and local governments, families, individuals and certain nonprofit organizations recover.

"Americans all across this land care deeply about them," the president said after a Cabinet meeting convened to coordinate federal relief efforts. "We're concerned about their safety. We're concerned about their property."

Cooling sea breezes
Exhausted firefighters hoped fighting the 16 fires would become easier with an expected slackening of the fierce Santa Ana wind that has stoked the explosive blazes. Forecasters said the wind will begin to weaken late Wednesday afternoon, followed by cooling sea breezes.

The shift could allow for a greater aerial assault and help firefighters beat back the most destructive blazes, said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

"If the weather cooperates, maybe we can turn the tide," he said.

Crews were anticipating an injection of additional firefighters and equipment from other states, mostly throughout the West. Frustration over the firefighting effort began to emerge Tuesday when a fire official said not enough had been done to protect homes.

Orange County Fire Chief Chip Prather told reporters that firefighters' lives were threatened because too few crews were on the ground. He said a quick deployment of aircraft could have corralled a massive blaze near Irvine.

"It is an absolute fact: Had we had more air resources, we would have been able to control this fire," he said.

Twenty-one firefighters and at least 24 others have been injured. One person was killed by the flames, and the San Diego medical examiner's officer listed four other deaths as connected to the blazes.

The state's top firefighter said Prather misstated the availability of firefighters and equipment. Eight of the state's nine water-dumping helicopters were in Southern California by Sunday, when the first fires began, along with 13 air tankers, said Ruben Grijalva, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Grijalva said the fires, spread by winds that at times topped 100 mph, would have overwhelmed most efforts to fight them.

Schwarzenegger dismisses criticism
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dismissed the criticism when questioned by an ABC News reporter, and praised the rapid deployment of fire crews and equipment across a region from north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border.

"Anyone that is complaining about the planes just wants to complain because there's a bunch of nonsense," he said. "The fact is that we could have all the planes in the world here — we have 90 aircraft here and six that we got especially from the federal government — and they can't fly because of the wind situation."

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes A helicopter drops fire retardant next to fire crews, as a wildfire driven by powerful winds burns in the Malibu Hills, Monday.

Thousands of people packed emergency shelters, where many had an agonizing wait to find out whether their homes had survived.

"I'm ready to go, but at the same time, I don't want to go up there and be surprised," said Mary Busch, 41, who did not know whether her home in Ramona, in San Diego County, was still standing.

She has lived at the evacuation center at Qualcomm Stadium since Monday, sleeping in her SUV with her 11- and 8-year-old sons.

"I feel safe there," she said. "It's all I have. I don't have any way to know what happened to my house."

Others were eager to return to houses they were confident had survived.

"I called my home and my answering machine still works, so that's how I know we're OK," said Rancho Bernardo resident Fuli Du, who packed his belongings Wednesday preparing to leave Qualcomm.

Stadium birthday
He spent his 41st birthday Tuesday at the stadium, where he has been living with his wife and two young sons.

"I don't know when I'll be able to go back, but I'm ready to go home," he said.

Evacuation orders continued Wednesday. Residents of the San Diego County communities of Fallbrook and Julian, an area devastated by a 2003 wildfire, were ordered out of their homes.

Officials also were evacuating De Luz, an unincorporated community north of Camp Pendleton that was being threatened by a wildfire burning on the Marine base. The fire also closed Interstate 5 and the Metrolink commuter rail, snagging the morning commute.

But residents of some San Diego County neighborhoods were gradually being allowed to return, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said at a news conference.

Many returned Tuesday to two evacuated neighborhoods in San Diego _ Del Mar Heights, near the ocean, and Scripps Ranch — as well as an evacuated portion of the city of Poway. Evacuation orders in Del Mar Highlands and Carmel Valley also have been lifted, said San Diego County spokeswoman Leslie Kirk.

So far, the fires have inflicted the worst damage in San Diego County, where five blazes continued to burn. The largest fire had consumed 196,420 acres — about 300 square miles — from Witch Creek to Rancho Santa Fe, destroying 650 homes, businesses and other buildings. Other hard-hit areas included San Bernardino County, where hundreds of homes burned in the mountain resort communities near Lake Arrowhead.