LOS ANGELES -- Firefighters were on course for victory in their battle against a series of devastating California infernos on Tuesday as President George W. Bush declared a federal disaster in the stricken area.

Two massive fires in Los Angeles and Orange County were on course for full containment while a blaze in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, which gutted more than 200 homes, was fully under control, authorities said.

Since erupting last Thursday, the fires have scorched a total of 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares), destroyed around 800 homes and forced tens of thousands of people to flee to safety.

Bush approved a request by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare the area a major disaster, a decision that allows federal funding to be made available for residents who lost their home, the White House confirmed.

However a lull in winds which fanned the infernos and cooler temperatures across the region have allowed firefighters to gain the upper hand.

By Tuesday all evacuation orders in affected areas had been lifted and residents were being allowed to return.

In the Los Angeles suburb of Sylmar, one of the worst-hit areas, residents of a mobile home park devastated by the fires were escorted back to the site.

More than 480 homes out of around 600 were incinerated by the fire, which broke late Friday and quickly roared through the region's tinder-dry vegetation.

The fire, which had burned 11,200 acres (4,500 hectares) by Tuesday, was 70 percent contained. Around 1,300 firefighters were continuing to fight the blaze.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Five firefighters and one civilian were injured by the fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Meanwhile, the region's biggest fire, a 28,900-acre (11,700-hectare) complex of fires that straddled four counties southeast of Los Angeles, was 75 percent contained, the Orange County Fire Authority (OFCA) said.

Although an army of 3,700 personnel continued to tackle the flames, the fire was expected to be fully contained by Wednesday, officials said.

Meanwhile, the fire which tore through the millionaires' playground of Montecito, north of Los Angeles, destroying dozens of multi-million-dollar mansions in the process, was 100 percent contained, officials said Tuesday.

Some 210 residences were destroyed by the fire, which consumed around 1,940 acres (785 hectares).

California is frequently hit by scorching wildfires due to its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent housing booms which have seen housing spread rapidly into rural and densely forested areas.

Only just over a year ago California suffered devastation from wildfires among the worst in its history that left eight people dead, gutted 2,000 homes, displaced 640,000 people and caused one billion dollars in damage.

In June and July this year, a series of about 2,000 fires raged across the state, scorching some 900,000 acres (364,230 hectares) of land.