Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Southern California Wildfires - Day 2

So-Cal Fires rage on

A Chula Vista city firefighter works the head of the Harris Fire as it rages in the hills above Eastlake. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Chula Vista city fire captain Jim Miller watches the head of the Harris Fire as it rages in the hills above San Diego's Eastlake district Monday night.
(Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters take a stand as a wind-driven brush fire comes to the edge of a backyard in Poway Monday, Oct. 22, 2007. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A Lake Arrowhead neighborhood, reduced to ash Monday afternoon, glows in the evening darkness. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

Twelve firefighters are trapped atop a ridge off Santiago Canyon Road in Orange County after flames jumped the road. The blaze roared up the hillside and prompted the crew members to deploy their fire shelters. They were surrounded by burning brush, but they made it out alive. "We just remained calm, everyone did," one firefighter said after he was checked out by paramedics. All of the firefighters were treated at the scene and did not want to go to the hospital. (Karen Tapia-Anderson / Los Angeles Times)October 22, 2007

A San Diego firefighter tackles a house blaze in Rancho Bernardo.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

A plume of smoke from the Malibu fire drifts out over the Pacific Ocean.
(Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

A water dropping helicopter is dwarfed against a large plume of smoke advancing up the hillside in Malibu. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

Corrections officer Chuck Toland removes an American flag from the entrance the Valley Oaks Mobile home park in Fallbrook. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

The Witch Creek fire in San Diego County had grown to 10,000 acres.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)


A San Diego Fire Department firefighter gasps for breath in the 3000 block of Lomas Serenas in Escondido, where homes were burning on both sides of the street.
(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TImes)
Volunteer firefighters from Running Springs try to halt the spead of flames in Green Valley Lake, a community about 12 miles east of Lake Arrowhead. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)


Flames expose the framing of this house in Green Valley Lake.(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times
Three structures were destroyed in the 33300 block of Holcomb Creek Drive in Green Valley Lake, a mountain community about 12 miles east of Lake Arrowhead.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles County firefighters climb a hill to head off spot fires behind homes on San Francisquito Canyon Road near Saugus. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A man with a garden hose tries to wet down his yard before fleeing the Foothill Ranch area.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Fire retardant is dropped onto the hills above Malibu as seen from Cold Canyon Road.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A Halloween decoration is blown by the strong winds in the yard of a burned house in Rancho Bernardo. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Joyce Gossman of San Bernardino animal control leads a large dog to safety in Green Valley Lake.(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A home crumbles in Green Valley Lake. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Despite their efforts, firefighters couldn't save this house in the 33300 block of Holcomb Creek Drive in Green Valley Lake. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Redlands Fire Capt. Rob Sandberg fastens a hose clamp as crews try to save burning homes on Juniper Lane in Green Valley Lake.(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Flames outline the roof of a house at the end of Juniper Lane in Green Valley Lake.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A fire that started Monday afternoon in Stevenson Ranch threatened homes and sent smoke billowing around the Magic Mountain amusement park
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Crews forge their way through thick smoke in Las Flores Canyon in the Malibu area.
(Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

A deck, with a telescope on it, goes up in flames near Grass Valley Lake, which is just west of Lake Arrowhead.(Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)

A helicopter drops water on a blaze in the north end of Saugus in the Santa Clarita Valley.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Shervi Balhin stands outside the tent she set up with her family inside Qualcomm Stadium Monday evening. She was evacuated from Rancho Bernardo Monday morning.
(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Fire races through Grass Valley Lake near Lake Arrowhead. (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Chris Branam, of San Dimas, views the giant plume of smoke from the fire in Stevenson Ranch. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The seventy horses at the Rocky Road Ranch in Hasley Canyon had nowhere to go as the Castaic Fire swept through. Although scared the horses were unharmed.
(Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Orange County Fire Authority personnel keep watch on the Santiago Canyon fire before dawn.
(Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

Southern California Wildfires - Day 1

Fires erupt in Southern California

Flames light up the early morning darkness on Las Virgenes Canyon Road.
(Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters on Las Virgenes Canyon Road this morning. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

High winds sent palm trees leaning into the smoky sky on Las Virgenes Canyon Road.
(Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters use water-dropping helicopters to battle the Canyon Fire near Pepperdine University in Malibu. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Flames tear through a structure. (Genaro Molina/ Los Angeles Times)

A burning deck and structure on the beach in Malibu. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Beachfront homes and decks burn at houses on Malibu Road. ( Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

An aerial view of Malibu from the northeast as brushfires rage. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)Malibu resident Jim Palmer covers his face from the wind-driven smoke from the Canyon Fire in Malibu Canyon this morning.(Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Just above the sand on the 25000 block of Malibu Road, an L.A . County firefighter battles to save two homes.(Al Seib/ Los Angeles Times)

Malibu Colony resident Takuji Masuda yells to a friend to come help water down a neighbor's beachfront deck.(Brian Vander Brug/ Los Angeles Times)


Firefighters spray the Malibu Grooming Company to save it from approaching flames Sunday afternoon. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A Jaguar burns on Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu Canyon Road.
(Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Luke Schroder, 14, turns back to look at the smoke-filled sky in Malibu.
(Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times)


A chandelier sways in the wind at Castle Kashan in the hills of Malibu. The castle was destroyed by the blaze. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
Numerous works of art were lost in the fire at Castle Kashan, which was listed at $17 million earlier this year. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Malibu landmark Castle Kashan is fully engulfed in flames.(Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Malibu resident April Arrandt races away from a vehicle fire on Pacific Coast Highway. It was not her car.(Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

The dining room of a beachfront home on Malibu Road burns. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

A structure burns on Malibu Canyon Road.(Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters tackle spot fires on the hillsides adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The towering cross at the entrance of Pepperdine University is surrounded by smoke and fire.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A sign at the Malibu Presbyterian Church still stands as firefighters try to save structures.
(Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters look for places to attack the blaze as structures burn on Las Virgenes Canyon Road.(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Flames engulf Malibu Presbyterian Church. Important items were safely removed from the hilltop structure, including boxes of documents and computers.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A firefighter climbs onto a structure as Malibu Presbyterian Church burns.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

An Airstream camper is dwarfed by approaching flames on Carbon Canyon property in Malibu.
(Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Danica Perez stands in the smoke and wind as firefighters try to keep the blaze from crossing PCH. Perez's home is on the ocean side of the highway. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Geronimo Ruiz sprays fire retardant on the house of Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of movie company DreamWorks SKG. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) October 21, 2007



As the fire makes its way down a hillside toward a structure on PCH, firefighters scramble to reposition themselves. Their efforts paid off: They were able to knock down the flames and save the structure. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) October 21, 2007



A flurry of fire retardant sprayed from a helicopter heads toward a structure on Pacific Coast Highway. Firefighters were able to save the building.(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) October 21, 2007


Residents of Camp Plenty Road in Canyon Country water down a home as flames sweep through the area. The blaze also gutted cars.(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)October 21, 2007

Spectators watch from Irvine Center Drive and Sand Canyon Avenue as the fire, driven by high winds, sweeps through the hills above Irvine. The fire had burned 3,800 acres in the Limestone Canyon Regional Park area.(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)October 21, 2007


Orange County Fire Authority firefighter Bernie Brawner walks the fire line near Portola Parkway and Sand Canyon Avenue in Irvine, where a fast-moving blaze swept out of the hills and moved along the 241 toll road near the 133 Freeway.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
October 21, 2007


Redlands Fire Capt. Rob Sandberg fastens a hose clamp as crews try to save burning homes on Juniper Lane in Green Valley Lake. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)