Resident Karen Ron, second from left, gets help from friends, from left, Jacob Swanson, Debbie Stenger and Joan Swanson digging through the rubble of her mother's destroyed home Friday in the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego after a wildfire destroyed it.

Ramona, Calif. ? With some of the worst wildfires dying down, many Southern Californians lucky enough to find their homes still standing could nevertheless face hardships for weeks to come, including polluted air, no electricity and no drinking water.

Power lines are down in many burned-over areas, and the smoke and ash could irritate people’s lungs for as long as the blazes keep burning.

Randy and Aimee Powers returned to this mountain community in San Diego County on Friday to find their home without electricity or water, after fire trucks drained the town’s reservoir.

“It’s better to be at home. We’re going to stick it out and do whatever we have to do up here to survive. We’ll make it through,” said Randy Powers, who joined a half-mile-long car caravan on Ramona’s Aqua Lane.

Residents of 10,000 Ramona homes who called the water department when they found their water turned off were greeted by a recorded phone message that said: “We are in extreme water crisis situation. No water use is allowed.”

Thousands of people continued returning to their neighborhoods as shelters across Southern California began shutting down. The largest, Qualcomm Stadium, which had housed 10,000 refugees at the height of the disaster, was being emptied out and readied for Sunday’s NFL football game between the San Diego Chargers and Houston Texans.

While the danger had eased considerably since the weekend, numerous fires were still burning out of control, and one in Orange County triggered renewed efforts to evacuate residents Friday.

In San Diego County, the area hardest hit, only one of five major fires was more than 50 percent contained. In the Lake Arrowhead mountain resort area of San Bernardino County, one of two fires that have destroyed more than 300 homes was 70 percent contained, while the other was only 15 percent contained. Authorities believe the blaze was deliberately set and asked for help finding a white Ford F-150 seen in the area where the fire started.

In all, more than a dozen fires had raced across more than 490,000 acres – or 765 square miles – by Friday. At least three people and possibly seven have been killed by flames. Seven others died of various causes after being evacuated.

About 1,800 homes have been destroyed, and damage has been put at more than $1 billion in San Diego County alone.

Across Southern California, 60 firefighters and about 30 civilians have been injured.

One of five people who have been arrested on arson charges since the wildfires broke out pleaded not guilty Friday. Police said witnesses spotted Catalino Pineda, 41, starting a fire Wednesday on a San Fernando Valley hillside. He is not linked to one of the major blazes.

Pollution control authorities across Southern California warned that smoke and ash are making the air dangerous. People with heart or respiratory disease, the elderly and children in those areas were urged to remain indoors.