The Witch Creek fire in northern San Diego County, whose sooty footprint is the biggest in Southern California at nearly 200,000 acres, was just 1 percent contained today.
One front of the fire was nearing the town of Julian early today, and a new round of evacuations was ordered for the north side of Highway 76 in Bonsall, San Luis Rey Heights and Winterwarm.
Evacuees were being directed west on Highway 76. The nearest shelters with room are at MiraCosta College and Borrego High School, according to county officials.
The fire broke out east of Ramona about 11 a.m. Sunday, eventually prompting the evacuation of nearly 350,000 households in Poway, Escondido, San Marcos, Rancho Santa Fe and parts of San Diego.
About 645 homes, 100 businesses and 50 outbuilding have gone up in flames, according to fire officials. Hundreds of other residences were damaged.
Because the fire broke out relatively late -- other big fires started around dawn or earlier, and most water-dropping aircraft were already assigned to them via the state's mutual aid system -- few firefighting aircraft were available during its first few hours, San Diego Deputy Fire Chief Brian Fennessy told ABC News.
The strong Santa Ana winds that enabled the fire to spread so quickly were starting to let up as more than 1,700 firefighters headed into Day 4 of the firefight.
Though the winds -- now out of the east, rather than the north and northeast -- were lighter, more temperatures in the 90s and low relative humidities were forecast for today.
One of the most active fronts in the Witch Creek fire was near Rancho Santa Fe, about 5 miles inland, where some multimillion-dollar homes were lost yesterday.
Like many of fires burning across Southern California, the cause of the fire was unknown. Some fire commanders worried it would merge with so-called Poomacha Fire, which broke out early yesterday on La Jolla Indian Reservation.
One of the hardest hit areas is Rancho Bernardo, where fire officials estimate 280 homes were destroyed. San Diego City Councilman Brian Maienschein said he was working to set up a local assistance center to coordinate relief efforts.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff toured the ruins yesterday, and President Bush is expected in town tomorrow.
Thousands of evacuees were waiting out the fires in Qualcomm Stadium at the fairgrounds in Del Mar. Mandatory evacuations for parts of Del Mar and Solana Beach were canceled last night, and residents were being allowed to return home.
