WITH towering flames bearing down on southern California mountain towns, firefighters last night dug in to protect hundreds of homes while praying for more help from lower temperatures.

Firefighters struggled desperately to save emptied-out resort towns in southern California’s San Bernardino Mountains as 200ft walls of flame engulfed dead and dried-out trees.

THE hot Santa Ana wind that has been driving California’s most destructive wildfires in history was giving way to cooler, more humid conditions yesterday, but that did little to tame the blazing tide as crews fought to save more homes.