Southern California businesses shuttered by fires

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Many Southern California companies shut down or pared back operations on Tuesday as more than a dozen wildfires raged out of control in the region.

From corporate headquarters to retail stores, a number of companies told employees to tend to family needs first. "It's quite chaotic and we're all in the midst of it," said Emily Kilpatrick, spokeswoman for wireless technology and semiconductor developer Qualcomm Inc.

Few showed up to Qualcomm's San Diego headquarters where the bulk of its 11,200 employees work, and like many in her company and across the region, Kilpatrick was working from home. She added that the firm closed for several days in 2003 because of wildfires.

Hamburger chain Jack in the Box Inc.'s corporate headquarters in San Diego were closed on Monday and Tuesday, though spokesman Brian Luscomb said there were a couple of dozen employees working at the building on Tuesday morning.

San Diego-based pet supply company Petco, which is privately owned, pared down its headquarters operations to essential staff only, said vice president Kevin Whalen. He said he voluntarily left his home with his daughter as a safety precaution on Monday as fire and smoke approached.

At computer maker Gateway Inc many workers did not show to its Irvine headquarters. "Employees were encouraged to work from home," said spokesman David Hallisey, who was not in the office himself.

Starbucks said it closed about 120 of its stores in San Diego and Ventura counties, and as of Monday evening, 16 McDonald's restaurants in Southern California were closed, a spokeswoman said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT UNCLEAR

With fires still raging, California officials and private experts said it was too soon to estimate the financial damage from the latest in a long series of fires, earthquakes, mudslides and other disasters to hit the nation's most populous state.

This week, many were recalling another severe fire that hit San Diego County in 2003.

"Everybody is saying it is a lot worse than the fire in 2003," said Alan Gin, an economist with the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego.

Yet "ironically whenever there is a disaster it stimulates economic activity during rebuilding," Gin said. "We've lost 5,000 construction jobs over the past year so this will put some of those people back to work. That will be financed by insurance money flowing in from outside the county."

The fires, now numbering at least 17, have burned unchecked since Sunday in a region stretching from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border 230 miles to the south.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said about 1,000 homes in San Diego County had been destroyed, but a full picture of the damage was unclear.

"They haven't been able to get close enough to the areas to get an accurate count because a large number of the homes that have burned are in the outback," said Alan Nevin, a housing economist with San Diego-based MarketPointe Advisors.

The fires disrupted tourism, a major source of revenue in a region famed for its beaches and temperate climate.

The famed San Diego Zoo closed its 80-acre (32-hectare) Wild Animal park after suffering some damage, including the loss of a condor breeding facility. In a statement, the Zoo said no animals had died. Another top tourist draw, SeaWorld, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch, was also closed.

Yet people evacuated from their homes filled area hotels.

U.S. airlines allowed travelers to Southern California change their travel plans without a fee.