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Elsewhere, the largest of the fires has burned more than 28,000 acres in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties and has destroyed more than 250 homes and apartment units. San Bernadino became the fourth county declared a state of emergency. Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Frank Garrido warned residents returning their homes in the Diamond Bar area to watch for snakes, mountain lions and other wildlife who fled the flames into more populated areas. In the Orange County suburb of Yorba Linda, residents returned to find more than 100 homes destroyed. Some hung signs thanking firefighters for saving their homes, others snapped photos of the scorched community. Lindey Lindholm sifted through the rubble of his home, searching for family heirlooms. It's all gone," Lindholm said. The first of the wildfires broke out in the Montecito area of Santa Barbara County, about 90 miles northwest of Sylmar. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said President-elect Barack Obama contacted him Sunday night to offer what help he could. Obama has turned his campaign Web site home page into a plea to help fire victims that includes a link to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's site, where people can sign up to volunteer or donate to the Red Cross or Salvation Army. Schwarzenegger on Monday asked the Bush administration to declare Southern California a federal disaster site. The governor also requested disaster loans for the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara and San Bernardino. He said many of the residents affected by the fires
-- particularly mobile home owners -- lacked insurance or are seriously underinsured. The causes of all three fires were under investigation, although officials labeled the Santa Barbara-area fire "human-caused," said Doug Lannon, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Lannon said the fire started in a Montecito landmark known to be a popular hangout for teenagers. He said it was possible someone was smoking in the brush or started a campfire there. Oakridge park resident Steve Fisher, 58, said he'd eventually like to move back there but doesn't know if he will
-- especially since he didn't have insurance on his home that burned. "I've never lived in a place with such a communal spirit," Fisher said. "It was just like paradise."
[Associated
Press;
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