Cooler temperatures, calmer winds and spots of drizzle allowed firefighters to staunch or contain most of the 23 fires that have erupted since last Sunday, leaving seven dead, destroying 1,800 homes and displacing 640,000 people.

Officials have predicted that three major blazes could be brought under control within 10 days, after one of the worst fire disasters in Californian history.

However, they also warned of the side-effects of the fires, which have pushed air pollution levels to three times higher than normal, raising concern for the elderly, children and people with respiratory ailments.

Patricia Rey, a spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency, said authorities were advising people in fire-hit areas to stay indoors.

"For sensitive groups, we are trying to keep them inside, telling them to try to avoid prolonged exercise activities. If you can do it inside it will be better. Run the air conditioner rather than keep open windows," she said.

She said that in one week, the blazes poured as much greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as 440,000 cars do in a year.

The agency also warned people to take care if clearing the masses of ash coating certain areas. It can cause irritation to the skin, nose and throat.

Some 203,000 hectares (502,000 acres) of tinder-dry park and forest land have been incinerated by the firestorm, according to authorities' estimates.

The seven deaths directly linked to it include four people who officials said may have been crossing illegally into the United States from Mexico.

California's lawmakers on Sunday praised the response by federal and local officials to the disaster.

"I think things went as well as could be expected," US Senator Dianne Feinstein, who represents California in Washington, told ABC television.

"We had about 10,000 firefighters from as far away as Nevada, Sacramento, San Francisco. It was an incredible push to contain these fires," said Feinstein who also noted a parade of US government officials who visited last week to survey the damage, inclding US President George W. Bush.

The National Weather Service has warned the weather could again pose problems for crews on Sunday, however, with less humidity and winds expected to lift to 25-40 kilometers (15-25 miles) per hour in canyons and passes.

"Critical fire weather persists across the mountains and interior valleys of southern California as Santa Ana winds continue," it warned in an assessment on Saturday, referring to the hot, dry gusts that whipped up the blazes.

The fires are the worst to hit the state since 2003, when 22 people were killed and more than 3,000 homes lost in a series of blazes. At least two of them were believed to have been set deliberately.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said authorities would ruthlessly track down anyone suspected of starting a fire.

"If I were one of those people who started the fires I would not sleep soundly," Schwarzenegger said. "We're right behind you -- turn yourself in."

San Diego County officials meanwhile said Saturday 640,000 people, sharply higher than previous estimates of 500,000, had been displaced in the disaster.

Hundreds of mental health experts have fanned out across the state to offer counseling and support to the thousands of people affected.

"Some of them are overwhelmed, very sad, stressed, angry, frustrated," said Karen Hoganson, a Red Cross mental health supervisor who spent several days counseling people in a shelter at San Diego's Qualcomm stadium.

California officials have set up a special task force to investigate insurance and contract fraud matters as well as con-artists who pretend to be claims adjusters.

"We are going after the scam artists, price gougers, shady contractors and anyone else who preys on people hurt by these fires," Schwarzenegger said.

"We will arrest them and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."

San Diego County officials have put the cost of property damage at more than one billion dollars although insurance industry analysts have said it may go as high as 1.6 billion.

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