LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Another man was arrested on suspicion of arson in California as authorities were investigating into some of the wildfires that have been devastating large areas in the state for five days, officials said Thursday.

    Los Angeles police said they have taken Catalino Pineda, 41, into custody Wednesday after local residents reported that he light a fire and walked away from a hillside in a suburb area.

    The arrest was made a day after law enforcement officers shot dead an arson suspect and detained another in San Bernardino, about 100 kilometers east of Los Angeles.

    Californian authorities and local FBI offices were jointly investigating at least two of the dozen wildfires in Southern California, where at least 1,500 homes had been destroyed and more half a million people displaced since Sunday.

    President George W. Bush was in California Thursday to tour the fire-ravaged region, champion already exhausted firefighters and comfort tens of thousands people still staying in evacuation centers.

    Bush earlier on Wednesday declared the seven counties in Southern California a major disaster area, paving the way for fire victims to receive federal relief assistance.