Southern California fires smolder as winds subside

Howling Santa Ana winds that fueled three separate fires in southern California subsided Monday, allowing firefighters to corral blazes that destroyed $22 million worth of homes and injured 150 people.

Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. has declared Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange Counties disaster areas, the first step in obtaining government relief for the homeless. The biggest of the major fires was west of here in the Malibu area, where than 50,000 acres are burned. Fire officials say arson is the suspected cause.