2003 LOCAL: THE DEVOURING INFERNO HITS SOUTHLAND IN ONE WEEK, UNTOLD DEVASTATION.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

The fires began as a wisp of smoke near Mount Baldy and, within a week, had exploded into the costliest conflagration in California history.

More than 15,000 firefighters struggled to contain 10 major wildfires that raged for 10 days in five counties in late October and early November.

When the last blaze was doused with the help of wet weather, 22 people lay dead and nearly 750,000 acres of brush and timber, 3,626 homes and 1,184 outbuildings burned.

Insured losses from the fire topped $3.5 billion, state officials said, making the Southern California firestorm the costliest in state history.

For the residents of Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties, it was the effort of firefighters from throughout the West that saved the day.

``I think when people realize the scope of these fires, the historic nature of these fires, they'll realize what a superhuman effort you all put in to save lives,'' President Bush had told a crew of 400 weary firefighters.

Steven Rucker, a 38-year-old firefighter from the San Francisco suburb of Novato, was killed Oct. 29 while battling the 280,000-acre Cedar Fire in San Diego County, the largest California wildfire ever.

At the fires' peak, 80,000 residents were evacuated from their homes.

The fires began Oct. 21. East of Los Angeles, the blaze known as the Old Fire consumed 91,000 acres and 1,000 homes, including more than 300 in the San Bernardino Mountains.

On Oct. 23, a fire flared in the Val Verde area east of Santa Clarita and was whipped by hot Santa Ana winds toward Simi Valley, Moorpark, Piru, Fillmore and Stevenson Ranch.

The Val Verde-Simi Valley fire destroyed 108,000 acres. The Piru fire charred 64,000 acres more in the Los Padres National Forest. In all, 37 homes and 145 outbuildings were destroyed.

Only the unremitting efforts of firefighters and relentless air strikes drove the inferno away from the suburb of Stevenson Ranch.

Santa Clarita-area residents were ordered to evacuate as the fires raced overnight down nearby canyons to threaten the upscale community.

``It's kind of like the whole state of California tilted to the south and all the fire engines rolled down here,'' said John Bagala, a firefighter from the San Francisco Bay Area sent down to battle the blaze.

Throughout the region, smoke roiled from drought-ridden hills as ash rained down upon the San Fernando, Simi and Conejo valleys.

The fire was halted at Interstate 5 before it could enter the San Fernando Valley. A turnaround of hot offshore winds into moist sea breezes helped firefighters contain the fire.

The cost of fighting the Simi Valley and Piru fires was an estimated $6.8 million, with damages upward of $20 million, including $7 million in crop losses and $5 million in lost property such as boats and motor homes.

In all, the cost of fighting the Southern California firestorm will top $180 million, state officials said.

By comparison, the Oakland Hills blaze burned more than 3,000 homes at an insured cost of $1.7 billion, the most expensive fire since those following the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

Insured losses following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake exceeded $12 billion.

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Photo:

An Air National Guard C-130 makes a drop over a home threatened by fire during the Simi Valley firestorm in October.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News