Cool weather offers respite in California wildfire

A monster blaze raging above Los Angeles grew in size on Tuesday as weary firefighters voiced hope that a break in searing temperatures would allow them to make inroads against the inferno.

The runaway wildfire, which has claimed the lives of two firefighters, gutted 53 homes and is threatening 12,000 more properties, has now churned through more than 121,762 acres (49,275 hectares ) in just six days.

An estimated 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and the flames are threatening a critical telecommunications facility as well as a historic hilltop observatory.

But a cooler weather front which brought increased humidity raised hopes that firefighters could make progress Tuesday, incident commander Mike Dietrich said.

"The conditions today will be much more favorable for firefighting and we'll take advantage of the weather to try and increase our containment very aggressively, take advantage while it's down," Dietrich said.

More than 3,655 firefighters are battling the fire in the Angeles National Forest, which sent Monday a huge mushroom cloud of smoke billowing across the city and east toward Las Vegas.

The inferno threatened communications antennas for numerous television and radio stations, cell phone providers and law enforcement agencies on Mount Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Firefighters were hacking away at and brush in order to create firewalls and set lines of retardant aimed at protecting the Mount Wilson Observatory.

A squadron of aircraft, including eight air tankers and 13 helicopters, have been deployed to bombard the blaze.

On Monday authorities pushed back an estimate for when the fire would be contained, saying the blaze was now unlikely to be brought under control before September 15.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs offered condolences from President Barack Obama to the families of the two firefighters who died when their truck plunged down a mountainside as they battled the flames on Sunday.

"In the last many hours we have seen two firefighters lose their lives, the President and First Lady obviously send their condolences to the two families," Gibbs said, adding that Washington was monitoring the crisis.

"It is a situation which we continue to monitor here and ensure that whatever we can do from the federal end to help state and local governments respond, we are doing," Gibbs said.

The Los Angeles fire was only one of several destructive blazes across California.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday toured the scene of a fire in Placer County, northeast of Sacramento that had charred 275 acres (110 hectares) of forest and gutted some 50 homes.

Schwarzenegger urged residents who received an evacuation order to flee immediately. "I think the key thing is when you hear from law enforcement, anything about evacuation, follow their orders," he said.

There were conflicting reports on Monday about the fate of five people who ignored evacuation orders in Los Angeles and were criticized by authorities after requesting rescue from firefighters.

However one of the five reportedly trapped denied requesting help and said the group was not in danger. Their fate was unclear early Tuesday.

California is frequently hit by wildfires due to its dry climate, winds and recent housing booms that have seen home construction spread rapidly into rural and densely forested areas.

In 2007, the state suffered some of the worst devastation from wildfires in its history that left eight people dead, gutted 2,000 homes, displaced 640,000 people and caused a billion dollars of damage.