Southern California wildfires

Firefighter Jimmy Jauregui sets backfires with his San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles Cal Fire team in hills south of Guiberson Road near Piru.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighter Chris Gannon monitors backfires his San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles Cal Fire team set along Guiberson Road near Piru.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighter Josh Adargo sets backfires with his San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles Cal Fire team along Guiberson Road near Piru.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Pasadena firefighters Kimo Pasimio, right, and Robin Leafblad clean their engine waiting for their next assignment at the fire command center at Arroyo Vista Community Park in Moorpark.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A pepper tree along Wiley Canyon Road is illuminated as the wildfire continues to burn near Fillmore.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Smoke and haze obscure the sun as a firefighter mans the line in a stand against the fire on Balcom Canyon Road in Somis.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A firefighter grabs gear from a firetruck while holding the line along South Sespe Street near Fillmore.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

An airplane drops fire retardant on rural hillsides along Balcom Canyon Road between Somis and Santa Paula as firefighters work to keep flames east of the road, using light winds to their advantage Wednesday afternoon. The wildfire erupted Tuesday near Fillmore and was fueled by windy, dry and hot weather. An estimated 16,000 acres had burned by Wednesday afternoon.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighter Bryan Mueller of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection monitors a backfire operation along the northern end of Balcom Canyon Road between Somis and Santa Paula.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Smoke billows from a brush fire that burned through the night Tuesday and early Wednesday in the rural hills north of Moorpark.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Cindy Harris, owner of Alpacas at Windy Hill on Bradley Road in Somis, tends to a newborn alpaca at her 25-acre ranch Wednesday as a brush fire continues to burn through the rural hills west and north of Moorpark. She and her husband, Doug Fieg, decided not to evacuate their 400 alpacas but herded them together and are ready with hoses to cool them off if fire comes close. The couple say moving the animals would stress them out and that their biggest fear is embers falling on the alpacas’ coat.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Waving to passing helicopters making water drops on nearby slopes, Cheryl Carter, left, Janice Schneider, center, and Lauren Schneider wear face masks to help protect themselves from smoke inhalation at an alpaca ranch in Somis.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A fire helicopter makes a drop Wednesday on the east side of Balcom Canyon Road as firefighters make a stand east of South Mountain in Ventura County in an attempt to keep the fire from threatening Santa Paula.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Carmel Valley Firefighter Steven Bonafant hoses down a hot spot on the west side of Balcom Canyon Road in Somis, where firefighters hope to make a stand and keep the fire from threatening Santa Paula.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A “hotshot” crew heads out to fight the Ventura County fire on the ground after aircraft hit flames along Balcom Canyon Road in Somis.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A California Department of Corrections camp crew works on a hillside on the west side of Balcom Canyon Road in Somis.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A pickup truck and a storage shed were destroyed by flames Wednesday along Balcom Canyon Road in Somis.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Cows seem unfazed this morning as smoke billows from a brush fire that burned through the night in the rural hills north of Moorpark. The wildfire erupted near Fillmore on Tuesday, fueled by windy, dry and hot weather. An estimated 8,500 acres were burned by this morning.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Shane Kohls, from left, James Moreta, and Matt Banks of the Anaheim Fire Department wait at a neighborhood north of Moorpark College.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

As the sun rises, smoke is visible from a neighborhood north of Moorpark College.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A firefighter watches a backfire set to protect a ranch along Grimes Canyon Road.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters protect a home on Grimes Canyon Road in Fillmore as flames race across the hillside above it.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

A ring of fire burns on the hillside above Bardsdale United Methodist Church in Fillmore.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

A backfire is set to protect a ranch along Grimes Canyon Road.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times (September 22, 2009))

A firefighter watches a backfire set to protect a ranch along Grimes Canyon Road.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times (September 22, 2009))

Fire that jumped California Route 23 burns across hillside above a ranch house along Grimes Canyon Road in Fillmore.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters watch as cattle released from Elkins Ranch cross the road in front of them.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Joe Voeker’s sideburns were singed by the flames as he worked to save his avocado ranch and home along Grimes Canyon Road in Fillmore.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Catherine Voeker watches as helicopters drop water near her family’s ranch in Fillmore.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

A DC-10 drops fire retardant on the hillside by Grimes Canyon Road.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

A Ventura County Fire Department helicopter douses a hot spot in the north end of Moorpark.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

A water-dropping helicopter hits a hot spot in northern Moorpark.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Santa Ana winds push smoke to the west, filling the sky north of Moorpark, foreground. Authorities estimated that the fire that erupted near Fillmore had burned 6,000 acres as of late Tuesday afternoon.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Smoke from the wildfire as seen from the Sunset Hills neighborhood of Thousand Oaks.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Traffic continues to flow on California Route 23 with smoke in the background.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Ventura County firefighters direct water at flames approaching along Grimes Canyon Road.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Ventura County firefighter Mike Mejia waters flames along Grimes Canyon Road.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Two workers from the Wayne J Sand & Gravel Inc. quarry in Moorpark try to beat back the flames with tree branches. They were not injured.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

An unidentified worker at the Wayne J Sand & Gravel Inc. quarry in Moorpark tries to extinguish hot spots on the quarry grounds with a fire hose.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Wind-driven smoke can be seen from Guiberson Road in Fillmore. The wildfire erupted about 10.30 a.m. southeast of Fillmore and northeast of Moorpark.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

A firefighter goes after hot spots in a hilly residential area in Redlands. The wildfire came very close to homes.  (Irfan Kahn / Los Angeles Times)

A plane drops fire retardant near Redland homes threatened by a wildfire.  (Irfan Kahn / Los Angeles Times)

A firefighter climbs a smoky hillside to hose down flames at the end of Vandermolen Drive in Norco.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Antonia Jones wheels her parakeet cage across the street to find shade as she flees from an oncoming wildfire behind homes on Andalusian Drive in Norco.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters watch a growing wildfire behind homes off Vandermolen Drive in Norco.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Kathy Bragg of Norco hoses down the side of her house as an oncoming wildfire burns at the end of Vandermolen Drive in Norco.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)