FALLBROOK, Calif., Oct 27 (Reuters) - Cool weather and light winds helped thousands of firefighters beat back Southern California wildfires on Saturday as residents ventured through charred landscapes to see if their homes were still standing.

Cool, cloudy weather that rolled in on Friday offered relief to weary firefighters and put to rest initial fears that fresh winds could further stoke blazes that have already killed 12 people.

"It helped yesterday and it's helping again today. Looking ahead to tomorrow, they are supposed to get some scattered rain over the area. The weather's really helping out quite a bit," said Randy Eardley, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center.

In Fallbrook, about 40 miles (65 km) north of San Diego, work crews surveyed damage from fires that had gutted many homes and blackened large swathes of land, according to a Reuters photographer.

Nearly two dozen fires near Los Angeles and the picturesque seaside city of San Diego have burned about 800 square miles (2,100 sq km) over the past week, with about two-thirds of that contained as of late Friday, according to government data.

The fires have destroyed 2,000 homes and other structures, with losses expected to top $1 billion in hard-hit San Diego County alone.

More than 320,000 people were still evacuated, though that had fallen from a peak of more than 500,000, according to the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

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