WASHINGTON -- Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter called Sunday for policy changes so Southern California would be better prepared for the next wildfires.

Hunter said military firefighting aircraft must be allowed in the air without a "fire spotter" aboard -- a requirement lawmakers have said kept some helicopters temporarily grounded as the fires broke out a week ago.

Feinstein said that as California's population booms, local communities should tighten building codes and keep big housing developments out of fire-prone areas in the path of Santa Ana winds.

"I think local jurisdictions have to use zoning more to provide for what we know is going to be a drier future and a more fiery future, to be candid with you," she said.

Both lawmakers, appearing on ABC's "This Week," called for more concerted brush-clearing efforts and regulations to keep scrub brush, which can fuel fires, away from homes.

Feinstein cited "community wildfire protection plans" that have defined 100-foot setbacks from homes, gravel instead of bushes around residences, and other measures.

"It works. It works where it's been tried," including some parts of San Diego, said Feinstein. She's included $3 million in a congressional spending bill for such efforts and said more money should be provided.

Hunter, who lost his home near San Diego in the destructive wildfires that blew through Southern California in October 2003, said he had just been notified that rebuilding was complete and he could move back in -- only to get evacuated again.

Both lawmakers praised the overall response to the fires that devastated communities but were being increasingly contained Sunday.

"I'd give a very high grade to this operation," Hunter said. He said that while the rule about having trained "fire spotters" on military choppers should be changed, state firefighting officials waived it after he and others talked to them early in the week, and it might not have made much of a difference anyway.

"We had very heavy winds, as you know, on Sunday and Monday that would have drastically reduced the capability of those choppers dropping water on the initial fires anyway, so we got them into the fight fairly quickly," said Hunter. State and federal officials maintain the "fire spotters" are needed for safety to help aircraft coordinate with one another and with local jurisdictions.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., appearing later on CNN's "Late Edition," also said she was pleased with the fire response despite initial concerns about the National Guard.

"I was worried because we know 50 percent of our equipment is gone; it's either in disrepair or in Iraq," she said, adding she'd met with the head of the Guard and been assured he had acquired equipment from other states.