More than 200 homes destroyed in Lake Arrowhead blaze

LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. — Wind-whipped flames raced through the mountain resort area of Lake Arrowhead on Tuesday, destroying at least 100 homes, and likely more, authorities said, bringing the total structural losses to California wildfires to more than 1,000.

The 100 homes lost Tuesday in the Running Springs community of Lake Arrowhead brought to more than 200 the number destroyed since fire broke out in the mountain resort area. Authorities said still other structures were on fire and the number was likely to rise.

In San Diego County, site of the worst blazes, more than 500 homes were destroyed in Fallbrook alone, said Holly Crawford of the San Diego Office of Emergency Services.

More than 300,000 people have fled their homes in the county, said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, adding the number there was expected to grow as more communities were put on standby to leave as several fires burned a path toward the sea — through populated communities.

The increase in San Diego losses included 500 homes destroyed in Fallbrook, said Holly Crawford with the County of San Diego Office of Emergency Services.

Across Southern California, more than 1,200 buildings have been destroyed. The state Office of Emergency Services did not have an overall estimate of evacuations Tuesday morning — but the numbers were expected to grow.

As dawn broke on the third day of the fires, the toll mounted as authorities issued new evacuations in San Diego County. One of those, on the La Jolla Indian Reservation in San Diego County, spread to 400 acres and was racing up the side of Palomar Mountain.

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