SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Firefighters in Southern California are facing wind-whipped walls of flame from 15 wildfires that have scorched more than 400,000 acres and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Firefighters battle the Witch fire Tuesday in the Del Dios area of Escondido, California.

The blazes have killed one person and injured at least 70 more.

Firefighters were aided by resources from Mexico, the state and federal governments and even inmates from California's prisons.

San Diego Fire Department Battalion Chief Bruce Cartelli described scenes of "utter devastation" with hundreds of homes lost and "many hundreds" of others damaged.

"It's probably the worst significant event in my career of 36 years," he said.

"It will not end ... until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," Cartelli said.

Meteorologists suggested that Santa Ana winds, which have fueled the wildfires with some gusts approaching 100 mph, could die down Wednesday afternoon.

"We are still facing some very serious fires," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said after an aerial tour of the affected area. "The weather has made it very difficult for the air assets to get up and fight the fires. ... If the weather cooperates, maybe we can turn the tide tomorrow."

Officials have evacuated nearly 350,000 homes in San Diego County alone, where the worst of the fires are blazing. Using U.S. Census Bureau numbers from the 2000 census, that could mean as many as 950,000 were affected by the fires.  Watch evacuees shaken, firefighters battling »

In San Diego County, at least half a million residents had been ordered to find refuge in shelters, schools and stadiums as fires pushed into new areas.

Among the evacuees as more than 4,000 military personnel from several bases in the area.

With the winds pushing them across the area, the fires spread quickly, forcing some residents to flee in the middle of the night.

"My wife woke me up like 12 o'clock, screaming and yelling that the flames were coming down," said Johnny Villanueva of Spring Valley, who fled with his wife and daughter to San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, which is serving as a shelter to more than 12,000 evacuees.

"We just loaded up the car really quick and came down here ... slept in our vehicles."

His wife, Elizabeth, added, "I saw on the mountain on fire, and said, 'Oh my God, my family. ... Let's go."

With Qualcomm Stadium being used by the evacuees, the San Diego Chargers planned to practice at the Arizona Cardinals' stadium in Glendale for next weekend's game.

Lake Arrowhead resident Michelle Dresser, who owns a business and was chased from her home by a wildfire last year, said she was waiting until the last minute to leave. She spent the night in her store, partly to help customers and neighbors.

"It is crazy. We are surrounded by fire on both sides," she said.

Asked by CNN where she would go, she replied, "I have to find someplace to accept two dogs, two cats and a turtle."  Watch people staying with pets at refuge »

Animals are allowed in Qualcomm Stadium, a nearby field and Del Mar Fairgrounds and Racetrack.

President Bush is scheduled to visit the area on Thursday, the White House said. Chertoff arrived in San Diego Tuesday afternoon for a "first-hand look" at the devastation.

"I wanted to see for myself, first of all, how the shelter situation is in San Diego, what the fires look like up close," Chertoff told CNN.

The secretary said that the federal response to the wildfires is "phenomenally better" than the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, "because we have been preparing and planning and training together for the last 2 ½ years."

"Unlike in Katrina ... we have now built the process ... and we've rehearsed it, so when we take the field, the team already knows what we need to do,
what county was 350,000 homes evacuated in What number of people have been injured? What was the damage? Who said no end until  it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around, Were many homes in San Diego County evacuated? What has caused homes to be evacuated? what did official say What is the problem? What is the number of charred acres? What county evacuated 350,000 homes?
San Diego injured at least 70 killed one person and injured at least 70 more. Cartelli 350,000 15 wildfires "It will not end ... until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," Cartelli said. Firefighters in Southern California are facing wind-whipped walls of 400,000 San Diego
question: what county was 350,000 homes evacuated in, answer: San Diego | question: What number of people have been injured?, answer: injured at least 70 | question: What was the damage?, answer: killed one person and injured at least 70 more. | question: Who said no end until  it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around,, answer: Cartelli | question: Were many homes in San Diego County evacuated?, answer: 350,000 | question: What has caused homes to be evacuated?, answer: 15 wildfires | question: what did official say, answer: "It will not end ... until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," Cartelli said. | question: What is the problem?, answer: Firefighters in Southern California are facing wind-whipped walls of | question: What is the number of charred acres?, answer: 400,000 | question: What county evacuated 350,000 homes?, answer: San Diego