US:US president George Bush will visit California today to view the impact of four days of wildfires that have prompted the biggest evacuation in the state's history. Earlier this week, the White House said Mr Bush would stay away from the disaster area to avoid hampering the emergency response.
Conscious of criticism of his administration's slow response to Hurricane Katrina two years ago, however, the president yesterday changed his plans and announced the federal government would help people without insurance whose homes have been destroyed.
"Americans all across this land care deeply about them. We're concerned about their safety. We're concerned about their property," he said.
Up to a million people have fled their homes as more than a dozen fires have swept areas from the Mexican border up to Santa Barbara, causing an estimated $1 billion in damage.
"These fires are causing terrible and tragic devastation in our state but we are responding and we will not stop until everyone is safe. We have had an unfortunate situation that we've had three things come together: very dry areas, very hot weather and then a lot of wind. And so this makes the perfect storm for a fire," said California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Mr Schwarzenegger praised the "great co-ordination" and "immediate response" of federal, state and local government agencies to the fires and thanked Mr Bush for signing a disaster declaration, which will free federal funds to help governments, families and individuals recover from the devastation wrought by the fires.
"I will continue to make sure that our efforts are co-ordinated, and that we are responsive to the needs of people . . . we offer our prayers and hopes that all will turn out fine in the end," Mr Bush said.
The president's visit to California comes as some firefighters have criticised the official response to the fires. Orange County fire chief Chip Prather said 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.
Mr Schwarzenegger responded sharply to critics.
"Anyone that is complaining about the planes just wants to complain because there's a bunch of nonsense. 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," he said.
The fires have caused electricity blackouts in parts of California, leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power.
"You've got to conserve today. You have no choice," San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders told householders.
Winds calmed yesterday, allowing firefighters and water-dropping aircraft to make a greater impact on the fires but forecasters warned that dry, windy conditions will last through the weekend.