CONCOW, Calif. -- One person was found dead inside a burned-out house Friday after a wind-fueled wildfire swept through a rural community in the Sierra Nevada foothills, officials said.

Butte County authorities were trying to identify the remains of the body found by a sheriff's deputy Friday morning in the town of Concow, which was evacuated when the blaze approached early Tuesday, said Sgt. Steven Pelton, the county's deputy coroner-sheriff.

"The burn victim is not recognizable," Pelton said. "We did some evacuations, but unfortunately not everyone chose to leave and you cannot force them to. This appears to be one of those people."

Investigators believe the person died in the fire, but they will conduct an autopsy to confirm the cause of death, Pelton said. No other bodies have been found in the region hit by the wildfire so far, but there are still many areas that deputies have not inspected yet, he said.

"Obviously, this is the worst case scenario," Pelton said.

Earlier Friday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he is ordering an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to help battle wildfires around the state.

About 400 guardsmen were called in earlier this month, and more than half of them already are on the fire lines.

The governor's office says this has been the first time in more than 30 years that the National Guard has been deployed for ground-based firefighting.

The deployment has come during an unprecedented fire season that has seen the most fires burning at any one time in recorded California history. Most of the blazes began during a massive June 21 lightning storm.

Schwarzenegger says the additional troops will be trained and deployed over the next few months.

The White House also announced on Friday that President Bush will visit California next week to survey the state's raging wildfires.

White House spokesman Trey Bohn says Bush will arrive in California on Thursday to get a briefing on damages. Bohn did not say where exactly the president would be going.

Bush's last trip to the Golden State was in January, when he attended several fundraising events in San Diego.

Meanwhile, firefighters battling an out-of-control wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills caught a break early Friday when strong winds they feared could blow hot embers across fire lines toward thousands of homes did not immediately materialize.

The northeast winds forecast for Friday morning were expected to be similar to those that caused the Butte County blaze to flare up earlier this week and destroy about 50 homes. The fire burning just outside the town of Paradise has forced some 10,000 residents to flee.

"They were getting little gusts, but nothing like they anticipated," said Fred Orsborn, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "They had a good night last night. It did not cross the river. The crews made significant progress on the south end of the fire."

Firefighters on Thursday had positioned themselves on the eastern edge of the town of Paradise, above the Feather River canyon. They and a few stubborn homeowners were preparing to protect the Sierra foothills town where a separate wildfire forced thousands of evacuations and destroyed 74 homes last month.

"They're monitoring that fire and trying to keep it on the east side so it doesn't cross over to the west bank" and reach the town, Edmonds said.

Lloyd Knifong, 47, and his son Kyle, 20, were preparing to spend a sleepless night defending their home and several others lined on two sides by 70-foot pine trees. A fire engine was parked in the cul de sac, and the pair have jerry-rigged sprinklers to the roofs of several homes in case flames approach. Others had fled the neighborhood near Feather River Hospital, which also has been evacuated.

"I've been hanging out. I'll tell you why: I've got 25,000 gallons of water in my pool, I've got a two-inch fire hose, I've got a pump. It's just a battle. We're working with what we have," Lloyd Knifong said. "When we see it coming, I'm going to empty my pool and get everything nice and wet. Then we'll leave."

The blaze is one of about 40 lightning-sparked wildfires that over the past two weeks have charred more than 76 square miles in Butte County. By Thursday, there were about 15 active fires.

In Concow, about 90 miles north of Sacramento, firefighters cleared and intentionally burned brush to keep the flames away from houses. Bone-dry trees ignited with loud pops like strings of firecrackers as 30-foot flames lit up a ridge around one rural home protected by an engine crew. Hundreds of beetles, grasshoppers, lizards and eight-inch rats fled ahead of the blaze.

Animal control officers rounded up dogs, cats, horses and other animals left behind when owners hastily evacuated earlier this week.

Evacuations orders remained in place, but some Concow residents were allowed to check on their homes Thursday.

"I think my place is gone," said Rachael Davidson, 37. "When we left, there were flames all around."

Wildfires across California have burned more than 1,100 square miles and has destroyed about 100 homes since a lightning storm ignited most of them almost three weeks ago. Some 1,460 fires had been contained by Thursday, but more than 320 still were active, authorities said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a letter to President Bush asking for more equipment and personnel to help build fire lines and train California National Guard troops deployed to assist firefighting efforts, his office said.

"California is in the midst of battling unprecedented wildfires that have stretched our state's firefighting resources to their limit and placed thousands of Californians in immediate danger," Schwarzenegger said in the letter.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they were reviewing the request.

Other fires burning around the state included:

-- A 54-square mile fire east of Bakersfield, which was 32 percent contained Thursday and not threatening any homes.

-- A 140-square mile blaze in Big Sur that has destroyed at least 27 homes and 31 other structures, and was 41 percent contained.

Authorities late Wednesday issued new mandatory evacuation orders for about 50 homes along a rugged road leading to the historic Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.

-- A 15-square mile fire in the Santa Ynez Mountains above the Santa Barbara County coast. It was 75 percent contained Thursday.