Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Fires in Southern California have burned more than 267,000 acres (106,800 hectares), making them among the worst in the state's history as the blazes destroyed hundreds of homes.

``This is what is left of my home,'' Larry Himmel, a reporter for San Diego's Channel 8, said yesterday during a broadcast while standing in front of his house in flames. ``This is what I came home to.''

More than 4,000 firefighters equipped with helicopters, bulldozers and aircraft with water tankers battled 14 wildfires during the night, Steve Turner, spokesman for the State Joint Information Center, said by telephone. At least 576 homes and 102 commercial buildings have been destroyed and more than 15,000 additional homes are threatened, he said. Some 200 National Guardsmen have begun assisting with thousands of evacuees.

In San Diego, an estimated 250,000 people were evacuated, jamming roads and freeways. Two major freeways that connect the city to the rest of Southern California, Interstates 15 and 5, were closed at times during the day. At least one person was killed and four injured.

San Diego officials said they were so overwhelmed by the size and number of fires that they initially couldn't get an accurate count of how many homes have been destroyed. They fear the fires may be worse than the 2003 blaze that caused $1.1 billion in damage, destroying 4,847 structures.

``We've never seen anything like this,'' San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said yesterday. ``The fires are coming at us from all angles in the worst possible weather conditions.''

`Tragic Time'

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's called it ``a tragic time'' and thanked U.S. President George W. Bush for granting his request to declare a state of emergency for California, the Governor's office said today in an e-mailed statement. Schwarzenegger also directed 1,500 National Guardsmen to assist and asked for help from neighboring states and the U.S. Defense Department. More than 2,300 inmates from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation also were enlisted to aid state and local firefighters.

The fires destroyed five homes in Malibu, where many movie stars have homes northwest of Los Angeles. In Lake Arrowhead, a mountain community northeast of Los Angeles, at least 128 homes burned, according to the Los Angeles Times.

California power-system operators yesterday declared an electricity transmission emergency after the wildfires disabled wires and required utilities to curtail supplies.

Rancho Bernardo

An initial count late yesterday for northern San Diego County indicated 50 homes were destroyed in Poway, 70 in Escondido and an unknown number in Rancho Bernardo, according to the San Diego County Emergency Homepage.

The San Diego Red Cross has five shelters open in the San Diego area, with about 3,500 people housed in them, according to spokesman Chris Marek. Nobody knows how long it's going to be before people can leave the shelters, he said.

Police and firefighters have been diverted from fighting the fires and controlling access and traffic to dealing with stubborn homeowners refusing to leave their homes until the last minute, San Diego's Mayor Sanders said.

``It is very important that people realize that their lives are more important than their property,'' Sanders said at a news conference.

Rancho Santa Fe

At least six homes were destroyed in Rancho Santa Fe, a residential community ranked by Forbes magazine last year as the second-most expensive postal code in the nation based on median sales price. Homeowners in the area, where the average sales price is $2.5 million, include those belonging to T. Boone Pickens, who's chairman of Dallas-based BP Capital LLC, golfer Phil Mickelson and singer-songwriter Jewel, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.

Hewlett-Packard Co. yesterday evacuated employees from its printer-research facility, one of its largest, located in northern San Diego County near Escondido, spokesman Edward Woodward said.

The San Diego Chargers football team moved its practice to Arizona for the next three days. The Qualcomm Stadium where the team normally plays is being used as an evacuation center.

The Navy asked only ``essential personnel'' to report to work yesterday.

All schools in San Diego County are closed today.

Gusting Santa Ana winds carried embers as far as 2 miles (3 kilometers) to kindle new fires. Temperatures may surpass 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius). Some areas of Southern California have received little more than an inch (2 centimeters) of rain since Jan. 1.

The Santa Ana winds, which carry hotter-than-normal air from desert areas in the eastern part of the state, are forecast to continue until tomorrow afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

In the Malibu area, the Hodge Castle, a 10,500-square-foot (975-square-meter) landmark owned by philanthropist Lilly Lawrence, which overlooks the Malibu lagoon, was destroyed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter J. Brennan in Los Angeles at pbrennan3@bloomberg.net