President George W. Bush took to the skies on Thursday, taking an aerial tour of the San Diego area to inspect damage caused by the wild fires that have wreaked havoc across southern California and forced more than 500,000 to flee their homes.

After the criticism for its lacklustre response to Hurricane Katrina two years ago, the Bush administration has taken great care to show it is playing an active role in dealing with the fires, which have caused about $1bn damage in San Diego alone.