Big Bear Lake, Calif. ? Fog and drizzle Thursday came to the rescue of firefighters laboring to save resort towns in Southern California from the raging wildfires that have killed at least 20 people.

“It is helping, but it is a long way from putting any fires out,” said Ray Snodgrass, chief deputy director of the California Forestry Department. “It’s the respite we were hoping for.”

The forecast, however, also called for gusting winds that could drive the flames into more homes.

Firefighters dug in to protect hundreds of homes still threatened in San Bernardino and San Diego counties. But only a few hundred acres of thick forest were burned overnight by one of the most devastating and erratic of the fires — a 50,000-acre blaze east of Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains.

“That’s minimal for this fire, considering 20,000 burned the first day,” said Battalion Chief Dan Odom of the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

The wildfires have blazed for more than a week across Southern California, destroying more than 2,600 homes and blackening around 730,000 acres. On Thursday, seven major fires were still burning in four counties.

On Wednesday, wind-driven flames burned about 350 homes in Cedar Glen in the San Bernardinos.

John Lucas, 38, said he was able to save three houses on his property, including the one where his wife and her brothers were born, by building a $60,000 fire system with two 5,500-gallon water tanks. The system consists of a network of hoses that keep the buildings and the grounds wet.

“It wasn’t luck. My family and I expended a lot of preparation just for this scenario,” said the former U.S. Forest Service firefighter.

Others whose homes were left relatively unscathed Thursday were residents of Sunset Pointe and Stevenson Ranch outside Santa Clarita, despite flames coming within feet of new $400,000 dwellings.

“I’m feeling numb. I’m feeling like I dreamed this,” said Marina Deeb, wearing a face mask as she talked with friends in her driveway. “I’m just very thankful to have my home, my husband and my children safe.”

Debris covers a street of burned-out homes in Crest, Calif. Numerous homes were destroyed by the Cedar Fire, which continued to burn Thursday just outside San Diego. Although some fog and drizzle aided firefighters Thursday, the forecast for Southern California calls for strong winds that could endanger more homes.