In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Monday in seven counties in the San Francisco region as heavy rains triggered floods.

Meanwhile, runaway fires that have killed at least four people continued to rage across the southern central US states of Texas and Oklahoma, forcing residents to flee.

Traci Weaver, a spokeswoman for the Texas Forest Service, said at least 80 homes were lost in Texas, while three communities and two small towns had to be evacuated.

She said, however, that some headway had been made in taming the blazes, which have been sparked by a drought, warmer-than-usual temperatures and high winds.

"We still have five active fires out of 18 yesterday," Weaver said.

"Unfortunately, the winds have shifted towards north-northwest which isn't good news. The temperatures are cooler today, but the winds are threatening."

Weaver said one of the main fires had already destroyed 35,000 acres, (13,800 hectares) as well as 35 homes. Another blaze, measured at some 17 miles (27 kilometers) in length, has destroyed 40 homes.

Emergency preparedness officials in the parched state of Oklahoma said fires have burned in two dozen counties in the last five days and the state was bracing for "extremely dangerous" wildfire conditions.

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry said he has asked President George W. Bush to declare an emergency in the state and commit federal resources to battling the fires, which have scorched huge swaths of the largely rural state since Tuesday.

"Most of these fires are caused by human carelessness. We are asking people to use extreme caution," Henry told CNN television.

"We are literally at the mercy of the weather. We have no appreciable precipitation forecast."

In the state of New Mexico a spokesman with the state's forestry department said that even extinguished fires were proving challenging for firefighters.

"We've got five major fires, all of them are laid down at the moment," spokesman Dan Ware said.

"Our firefighters are trying to keep the fires from reigniting."

In the town of Tatum, some 700 residents were evacuated but were allowed to return to their homes shortly afterwards.

In the town of Hobbs, where close to 20 structures were destroyed by fire, between 300 and 500 people have been evacuated, officials said.

The mayor of Oklahoma City, Mick Cornett, said Monday that there was no relief in sight.

"I'm concerned that the worst may be yet to come. There's no rain in the forecast," said Cornett, who said there has been no significant rainfall in the area since late October.

While a drought has helped fan the flames in southern states, heavy rains continue to drench California, inundating its wine country.

Some 4,000 people in northern California's Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties were forced to flee their homes to escape the regions' overflowing rivers, officials said.

Schwarzenegger was to visit the affected regions Monday. Authorities reported no flood-related deaths.

Torrential rains which deluged San Francisco over the New Year's holiday weekend have migrated southward Monday, drenching usually sunny southern California.

The Rose Parade, an annual January event attended by about one million people outside Los Angeles, was hit by rain for the first time since 1955.

The US National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flood warning for the central and southern San Joaquin Valley through late Monday.

Forecasters anticipated another inch (2.5 centimeters) of rainfall on top of several inches that have already fallen over the past several days, further swelling waterways, especially in low lying areas.

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