Continued weakening of the seasonal Santa Ana winds allowed firefighters to step up their battle against devastating wildfires Thursday, though thousands of homes remained under threat from advancing flames and the death toll rose with the discovery of several more bodies."The fires are winding down. We're starting to get control, except for the major fires in San Diego," said Bill Peters, spokesman for the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "We'll get them out, shifting more and more resources down there. And the weather helps."
Four bodies were found Thursday in a canyon near the Mexican border, and two were found in a burned home in the northern part of San Diego County.
Progress in the exhausting fight came as President Bush began a visit to Southern California to tour fire-ravaged areas. The president arrived as the morning sun struggled to break through thick cloaks of smoke that trailed out of mountain canyons east of San Diego before diffusing into a yellowish pall over coastal areas. He was welcomed by California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and promptly set off on a helicopter tour of the scorched landscape.
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