Pentagon officials said they have taken steps to meet anticipated needs without waiting for formal requests from state authorities, mindful of the lessons of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"One of the lessons we, as a nation, learned is that in a crisis, you don't wait to be asked," said Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense.

The wildfires also have hit close to home for the US military, which has numerous marine corps and naval bases in southern California and some 300,000 Defense Department personnel and their dependents in the area.

Two fires were reported at the sprawling Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton, and marines and their families were told to make preparations in case of an evacuation.

"We continue to watch these fires closely and advise residents to maintain awareness of the current fire condition and exercise caution," Colonel James Seaton, the base's commanding officer, said in a statement.

McHale said 1,400 sailors and their families have been evacuated from three naval bases and 40 marine aircraft were evacuated from the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

Sailors in San Diego were told to return to their ships, officials said.

At least one Defense Department employee was killed in the fires, McHale said.

"There is no manpower shortage, in terms of actual firefighting activities," he said. "And at this point, the request to DOD (Department of Defense) had been for supporting activities, such as aerial imagery, bedding, cots, medical capabilities, things of that sort.

But McHale said 550 active duty marines at Camp Pendleton have been put on alert in case they are needed, he said.

About 1,500 national guard troops have been activated by the state to reinforce civilian firefighting and humanitarian relief efforts, and another 17,000 national guards are available for duty.

Six air national guard C-130 aircraft equipped to air drop chemical retardant on fires were flown to Naval Air Station Point Magu, California from bases in Colorado, Wyoming and North Carolina.

A dozen helicopters capable of carrying buckets of water or fire retardant have been drawn from the national guard, the navy and the marine corps, for use in the firefighting efforts, Pentagon officials said.

The navy set up cots for evacuees at three of its bases in the San Diego area, and provided the state with 10,000 cots for local evacuation sites, the officials said.

Some 23,000 vehicles with families fleeing fires at the town of Fallbrook were channeled through Camp Pendleton Monday night to safer areas, a base spokesman said.

But so far marines at Camp Pendelton have remained on base, said Corporal Paul Robbins Jr.

"No doubt we have marines set aside if they are called upon to help with this emergency. We've always got marines ready to help," he said.

"However, so far none of them have been called forth to assist," he said.

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