[1] Thirty of those wildfires were part of the Fall 2007 California firestorm,[5] which burned approximately 972,147 acres (about 3,934 km2, or 1,520 mi2) of land from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border.

[14] President George W. Bush concurred, and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.

[20] Major contributing factors to the extreme fire conditions were drought in Southern California, hot weather, and the unusually strong Santa Ana winds, with gusts reaching 112 mph (180 km/h).

[5][21] California's "fire season," which traditionally runs from June to October, has become a year-round threat, due to a mixture of perennial drought and the increasing number of homes built in canyons and on hillsides, surrounded by brush and forest.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported,Santa Ana winds blowing up to 60 mph (97 km/h) combined with temperatures into the 90s to create in the worst possible fire conditions.

[36] Power outages were reported in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and other counties on October 22 to 333,500 Southern California Edison customers, most being restored within 24 hours.

The power outage also affected the areas of Ojai, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Rialto, Fontana, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Mira Loma, Hesperia, Corona, Bloomington, Irvine, Calimesa and Rubidoux.

[41] The Navy moved all non-essential personnel from Naval Base San Diego barracks onto nearby vessels to accommodate refugees.

[44] Illegal migrant workers were endangered by the crisis, sometimes staying at work in the fields within mandatory evacuation zones.

"[52] March Air Reserve Base is the primary staging area for relief supplies as coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Besides food, blankets and water, volunteers provided toys for children, massages, and a live rock and roll band performance.

[17] Six crews from the Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 based at Naval Air Station North Island were assigned to battle the Witch Creek fire.

They flew MH-60 Seahawk helicopters equipped with a 420-gallon water bucket and they were the only local Navy teams trained to fight fires from the air.

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar contributed several aircraft as well as fire fighting trucks to operations based in Ramona.

[16] One of the larger airtankers, the Martin Mars, sent through a private contract from its home in Port Alberni, British Columbia on October 25, landing on Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, California.

Two other airtankers and their crews from Quebec worked on the fires, part of an annual three-month contract with the state of California.

[60][61] Rep. Duncan Hunter criticized state fire officials for delaying the use of Marine helicopters until CalFire spotters were in position to coordinate their efforts.