A little optimism in San Diego

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For the first time since the firestorms erupted, officials in San Diego were guardedly optimistic today that firefighters were beginning to get the upper hand on blazes throughout the county -- thanks to a beneficial shift in wind.

The damage will easily exceed $1 billion, said Ron Lane, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Services.

Lane told reporters that initial indications were that 686 homes and 170 mobile homes were destroyed by the Witch, Harris and Rice fires, the three major blazes. Other estimates have put the loss of homes at 1,000 or more.

Smoke from fires at Camp Pendleton caused the closure of Interstate 5 at Oceanside for hours, but southbound lanes were opened about 7:30 a.m.

And fire continued to move eastward toward the mountain community of Julian, which was ordered evacuated. With phone service down, sheriff’s deputies were going door to door ordering sometimes stubborn residents to leave.

The offshore wind shift appears to have blunted the march of the Witch fire toward the ocean. The blaze came close to the outskirts of exclusive Rancho Santa Fe before a wind change, water drops and firefighting were able to stop it.

“On the west end [of the Witch fire], the conditions have improved significantly,” said Rick Hutchinson, assistant incident commander for the fire.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said officials hoped to allow residents back into hard-hit Rancho Bernardo, where nearly 300 homes were destroyed. “But I have to tell you structures are still smoking in those areas,” he said.

San Diego Fire Chief Tracy Jarman was buoyed by the expected arrival this afternoon of a super airtanker able to cover three acres in a single drop. “That’s good, three acres in a single drop,” said Ron Roberts, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors.

Because of high fire danger, the U.S. Forest Service ordered the closure of the four national forests in Southern California: Cleveland, San Bernardino, Los Padres and Los Angeles.

Power continued to be problematic, causing officials to declare an energy emergency. Four major transmission lines are down, and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. officials have pleaded with the public to conserve energy.

“We want to thank you for your efforts and now ask you to redouble them,” said SDG&E Chief Operating Officer Mike Niggli.

Despite the expected arrival of the air tanker, reinforcements from other fire departments outside the region have been minimal.

“We’re not getting a lot of new resources ... not nearly what we need,” said Coronado Fire Chief Kim Raddatz.

-- Tony Perry