LOS ANGELES — A wildfire threatening thousands of homes in Southern California spread slowly through scenic canyonlands Saturday, straining resources as crews struggled to contain hundreds of other blazes across the state.
“The firefighters are stretched thin; they are exhausted,” and some have gone days without sleep, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who visited a command post in Santa Barbara County.
A slew of wildfires, most ignited by lightning two weeks ago, has burned more than 800 square miles of land throughout California. The blazes have destroyed at least 67 homes and other buildings and contributed to the death of a firefighter who suffered a heart attack while digging fire lines.
About 1,400 fires have been contained, but more than 330 burned out of control Saturday.
Schwarzenegger said the state’s top priority was in the coastal region of Santa Barbara County, where nearly 2,700 homes were threatened by a 4-day-old fire in the Los Padres National Forest that has charred about 13 square miles.
Cooler, moist air Saturday morning kept the fire sluggish and helped firefighters trying to surround it, said Pat Wheatley, county spokeswoman. The fire was 24 percent contained, she said.
Wheatley said about 4,000 homes were under a warning Saturday afternoon — a situation not as urgent as a mandatory evacuation — in four canyons at the northern end of the blaze.
Investigators think the fire, which began Tuesday, was human-caused.
Meanwhile, cooler weather helped crews attacking a 2-week-old blaze that has destroyed 20 homes in Big Sur, at the northern end of the Los Padres forest.
The fire, which had blackened 107 square miles, was only 5 percent contained, but morning fog that moved in from the sea helped prevent it from advancing on Big Sur’s famed restaurants and hotels.
