Firefighters battling hundreds of blazes in California fear that a heatwave forecast for next week could hinder efforts to control fires that threaten the tourist haven of Big Sur and the picturesque town of Santa Barbara.

Officials hope that a brief lull in conditions today will help them tackle the statewide fires that began two weeks ago and have since destroyed 526,707 acres, forcing the deployment of 20,260 personnel, 1,641 engines and 118 helicopters.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California, toured the command centre in Santa Barbara yesterday and spoke of a shift in the type of crisis being faced by the state.

“Something is happening, clearly. There’s more need for resources than every before,” he said. “It’s fire season all year round. It’s a different ballgame."

The fire besieging the seaside town of Big Sur, 120 miles south of San Francisco, has so far claimed 68,712 acres and is only 5 per cent contained. Nearly 2,000 firefighters are deployed against it.

The other major blaze is focused on the town of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, 103 miles north of Los Angeles. It has forced the evacuation of 2,663 homes and jumped to more than 8,350 acres (3,380 hectares) overnight as it ripped through forest that has not burnt for 50 years.

Fire crews battling the so-called Gap Fire near Goleta on Friday are holding the line, backed by 10 airtankers, and will now concentrate on rugged terrain to block a potential advance toward Santa Barbara.

“The priority is to put a lot of resources in and order where there are homes and specifically to the east ... where it could move toward Santa Barbara,” Rolf Larsen, a spokesman, said.

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