SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the emergency evacuation center at Qualcomm Stadium Tuesday and pledged all available resources to wildfire-ravaged San Diego.

Chertoff said the federal government has put forward a "full-court press" of resources for Southern California.

He said representatives from the federal government would "stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the very brave first responders who are out there fighting to the point of exhaustion to keep these fires under control."

"I know this is a difficult time for a lot of residents of communities of Southern California," Chertoff said.

"We are still facing some very serious fires," Chertoff said. "The weather has made it difficult for the air assets to fight fires, to get up and do the job, although we are hopeful the wind will die down so we can put those assets up there."

Chertoff said a disaster declaration "is in the works," which will help in restoring the communities impacted by the fires.

Schwarzenegger said he has spoken with President Bush several times during the emergency, who told him "anything you need from us we will supply it for you."

Bush is scheduled to tour the burn damaged areas in San Diego on Thursday.

About 513,000 people in San Diego County have been forced from their homes because of the fires, officials said. That is the largest evacuation order in the United States since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

About 12,000 people have sought shelter at Qualcomm Stadium and thousands of others are housed at shelters around the county.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Paulison said the federal government has learned from Katrina and there are differences between the way the disasters are being treated.

He touted the cooperation between the local, state and federal government.

"We are going to go into this as partners and that is the difference it is going to make," Paulison said.