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YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. -- Firefighters battling a massive wildfire burning on the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest were preparing for the possibility that the blaze could join another wildfire Friday and become even more difficult to control.

By late Thursday, the 48,000-acre Sawtooth fire had destroyed more than 150 homes and buildings. While containment was at 20 percent - which fire officials said was a sign of progress -- it was on course to possibly merge with the 8,200-acre Millard fire in the San Bernardino National Forest, where it could feed on vast stands of dead trees.

State fire officials told a Sacramento news conference that even if the fires joined, they were at least 15 miles from any areas of dead trees.

But if the fires did reach deadwood, it could be bad, said Kevin Olson, deputy chief of operations in the headquarters of the California Department of Forestry.

"You've got 100-foot-tall trees and those are kind of like a torch," said forest spokeswoman Robin Prince.

Officials have not estimated when the fires might merge, but early Friday they were about two miles apart, said CDF spokesman Jason Goedecke.

The area between the two fires was mostly unpopulated, officials said. But a combined blaze could "create erratic fire behavior and a very dangerous situation for firefighters," Rick Bogt, battalion chief with San Marcos Fire Department, told The Los Angeles Times.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County Thursday, citing "conditions of extreme peril to public health and safety of persons and property."

The declaration will provide immediate state assistance and sets the stage for a request for federal disaster funding, said Eric Lamoureux, a spokesman for the state Office of Emergency Services.

At a community meeting Thursday night in Yucca Valley, state fire officials said they doubted the wildfire would reach the Big Bear resort area thanks to a large firebreak cleared by crews.

"We don't foresee any event where it blows up and goes to Big Bear," said Rick Henson, who is leading CDF firefighting efforts.

Not taking any chances, San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies began warning residents east of Big Bear Lake, about five miles from the fire, that they should be ready to evacuate.

Dozens of homes in the Morongo Valley were ordered evacuated as flames crept down a hill a few miles away. Some residents stayed behind, their possessions in their cars, monitoring the shifting wind.

"Are we nervous? Yes. Will we stay up tonight? Yes," said Pam Bennett-Wallberg, whose 2½-acre ranch serves as a refuge center for African meerkats.

A few miles away, the Millard complex was a potential threat to 75 homes. Just 5 percent contained, it was burning at higher elevations that included both brush and timber.

Authorities said smoke from the blazes 100 miles east of Los Angeles was smelled in Las Vegas and Ogden, Utah.

Swaths of Southern California forests have been weakened by drought and killed by bark beetles. For several years, workers have been cutting down dead trees near communities and roads. Thousands of acres have been cleared but experts say it will take up to 20 years to remove all the deadwood.

Taking advantage of favorable wind conditions, firefighters continued their offensive in Morongo Valley Friday, using drip torches, grenades and pistols to light back fires while hand crews used bulldozers to draw fire breaks. The effort was aimed at keeping the fire from advancing by eliminating its fuel.

About 1,350 firefighters worked the blaze. Nine firefighters and two civilians have been treated for minor burns or smoke inhalation.

The Sawtooth fire was ignited by lightning during the weekend and roared into an inferno Tuesday, racing through tiny high desert communities. Forty-five houses, 118 other buildings and 91 vehicles were destroyed in Pioneertown and other communities near Yucca Valley.

Pioneertown, established in the 1940s as a location for filming cowboy movies, lost none of its Western-style storefronts. Residents weren't so lucky.

County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger told Yucca Valley residents his board planned to waive building permit fees for people who suffered fire damage.

"It has been one of the most difficult fires to manage on the ground," said Hansberger. "This isn't over."

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