San Francisco  - Fires continued to rage throughout northern California Tuesday, though cooler weather and light winds helped an army of firefighters make progress against some of the worst blazes.

According to the state fire agency Cal Fire a total of 1,459 fires were still active Tuesday morning with the vast majority of them burning in the northern part of the state, which is usually less prone to fire activity than southern California - which is hotter and drier.

The fires have burned over 1,700 square kilometers since June 20, when a series of unseasonal lightning storms sparked the barrage of blazes. Approximately 18,900 personnel were fighting the flames, backed by 1,460 fire trucks, and over 100 water dropping aircraft.

Most of the fires are in remote regions and are being left to burn as fire managers focus their resources on areas close to human habitation. But in picturesque Monterey County, home to the popular tourist area of Big Sur, close to 1,400 firefighters were still working hard to contain the so-called Basin Complex Fire which had burned 16 mountain homes, and at 160 square kilometers was only 3 per cent contained. It still threatened 1,200 houses. However another fire in the nearby Los Padres National Forest was 95 per cent contained after burning 320 square kilometers.

The fires are causing huge concern coming early in the season due to low rainfall over the winter and spring that left brush bone dry at least two months ahead of schedule.

California's worst fire months are usually in September and October, when hot dry inland winds blow across the south of the state. Last year more than 2,000 homes were destroyed by the late summer fires, causing more than 3 billion dollars in damage.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency earlier in the month and called in the National Guard Wednesday to boost firefighting efforts. President George W Bush also declared a federal state of emergency over the weekend, ordering federal authorities like the US Marines and FEMA to help California. California also plans to ask the federal government to help defray the cost of fighting the fires.

Schwarzenegger also called on people not to buy fireworks for the traditional July 4 US Independence Day celebrations, as it was too dry and too dangerous to set them off. (dpa)