``The firefighters are stretched thin, they are exhausted,'' and some have gone days without sleep, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who visited a command post in the coastal region of Santa Barbara County, where many homes in the Goleta area are threatened by a five-day-old fire in the Los Padres National Forest that has consumed about 13 square miles.

More than 2,600 homes were still under mandatory evacuation, and people in another 1,400 were warned to be ready to flee if the flames gathered speed. Some people who had previously been forced to leave their homes were being allowed to return this weekend, in areas where the threat has lessened. But they were told to remain ready to leave again, if necessary.

Fires have burned more than 800 square miles of land and destroyed at least 69 homes throughout California, in the past two weeks.

About 1,400 fires have been contained, but more than 330 still burned out of control by Sunday morning.

Cooler, moist air Saturday helped crews fighting the Santa Barbara County fire -- known as the "Gap Fire." It is now the state's top priority, said Pat Wheatley, county spokeswoman. Saturday evening fell without the return of the late afternoon ``sundowner'' winds that had sent flames racing up to homes earlier in the week.

``We've been pleased by some cooperative weather,'' Wheatley said. ``The 'sundowners' that we were afraid could happen did not happen much tonight so that gave us an opportunity to fight the fire without fighting the winds.''

The fire, which was burning in 15-foot-high, half-century-old chaparral, still had the potential to roll through a hilly area of ranches, housing tracts and orchards between the town of Goleta and Santa Barbara, keeping firefighters on their toes.

``They're feeling very good about this, but they are not taking this fire lightly at all,'' Wheatley said.

Temperatures dipped to around 60 degrees overnight, but were forecast to reach the high-70s on Sunday.

Nearly 1,200 firefighters struggled to surround the blaze while a DC-10 air tanker and other aircraft dumped water and fire retardant along ridges and in steep canyons.

Investigators think the fire, which began Tuesday, was human-caused. The U.S. Forest Service on Saturday asked for public help in determining who set it and whether it was sparked accidentally or on purpose.

Meanwhile, cooler weather helped crews attacking a two-week-old blaze that has destroyed more than 20 homes in Big Sur, at the northern end of the Los Padres forest, but that fire continued to grow slowly on all flanks Saturday night.

The fire, which has blackened 111 square miles, was still only 5 percent contained as of Sunday -- with full containment not expected until July 30. But fog that moved in from the sea helped prevent it from advancing on Big Sur's famed restaurants and hotels.

``We're gaining ground, but we're nowhere near being done,'' said Gregg DeNitto, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. ``There's still a lot of potential out there. The fire has been less active the last couple of days. We've had favorable weather; they are taking every opportunity to get some line on it.''

But the weather in the Big Sur area was expected to become hotter and drier over the next couple of days, he said, with winds and temperatures rising and humidity dropping.

``The fire still has the potential for movement and the potential to get out of our containment lines,'' he said.

The governor noted that he recently ordered 400 National Guard troops to be trained in wildfire fighting so they could help fight the state's blazes. He also urged lawmakers to adopt his budget plan for a $70 million emergency surcharge on home and business insurance policies to buy more firefighting equipment.

California now has a year-round fire season and needs the money from the fee, which should cost the average homeowner about $1 a month, Schwarzenegger said.