Wind-Driven Wildfires

An air tanker drops retardant along a ridge line above Irvine Lake, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006, east of Orange, Calif.

California firefighters monitor the activity of a wildfire burning in the Cleveland National Forest, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006. Firefighters fought blazes that have burned more than 7,200 acres of rugged Southern California landscape and worried Wednesday about flare-ups as Santa Ana winds gusted and temperatures rose.

A helicopter dumps water on a wildfire at the Cleveland National Forest near Silverado, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006. A 6,520-acre wildfire that triggered evacuations of more than 2,000 homes in northeastern Orange County apparently was ignited by remnants of a controlled burn in Cleveland National Forest that escaped, a U.S. Forest Service official said Tuesday.

A California Division of Forestry firefighter uses a "drip torch" to ignite a backfire along State Route 241 to keep the flames from the Sierra Fire from jumping the highway, early Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006, near the outskirts of suburban Orange County near Anaheim, Calif.

The late-afternoon sun is barely visible through a cloud of smoke over homes in the Anaheim Hills area of Orange County, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006. Residents ordered to evacuate more than 2,000 homes near a 3,500-acre wildfire were told they could return to their neighborhoods late Tuesday as an army of firefighters and a fleet of aircraft worked to keep the blaze corralled in rugged land.

AP Photo/Orange County Register, Christina House

On the east side of the 241 Toll Road, Travis Anway, of the San Bernardino County Fire Dept., wets down vegetation after a back fire was set to deprive a wildfire of fuel near Orange, Calif., Feb. 7, 2006. Residents ordered to evacuate were told they could return to their neighborhoods as an army of firefighters and a fleet of aircraft worked to keep the blaze corralled in rugged land just east of Orange County suburbs.

Wildfires burn in the Cleveland National Forest on Monday evening, Feb. 6, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif. By early Tuesday, the fire consumed an estimated 3,500 acres near Orange County suburbs and 2,000 homes were under a mandatory evacuation order.

Visitors to Discovery Well Park in Signal Hill, Calif., watch as smoke rises from a wildfire in the Cleveland National Forest near the Orange County/Riverside County border, Monday, Feb. 6, 2006. On Tuesday, firefighters continued to battle the fire that had consumed an estimated 3,500 acres.

A wind-driven fire moves through the Cleveland National Forest Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, near Orange County, Calif. A Southern California wildfire driven by Santa Ana winds ate through 1,200 acres of wilderness Monday near Orange County suburbs, forcing evacuation of 1,500 homes.

A wind-driven fire moves through the Cleveland National Forest Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, near Orange County, Calif. The seasonal Santa Ana wind often plays a role in disastrous wildfires in Southern California.

Orange County Calif., fire Capt. Jose Val Buena turns his head from the flames while watching over backfires along California Highway 241 tollroad in the Cleveland National Forest south of Yorba Linda, Calif., Monday, Feb. 6, 2006.

Denisia Halligan packs her pets and valuable as she evacuates her home in the Peralta Hills area of Anaheim Hills, Calif., Monday Feb. 6, 2006. A wildfire fanned by Santa Ana winds ate through 1,200 acres of wilderness near the outskirts of Orange County suburbs Monday, forcing the evacuation of 1,500 homes.

Orange County firefighters set backfires while fighting a wildfire Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif. The seasonal Santa Ana wind often plays a role in disastrous wildfires. In 2003, wind-driven wildfires destroyed more than 3,600 homes and killed 22 people in Southern California. The cause of the latest fire had not been determined.

A wildfire burns in the Cleveland National Forest Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif.

An Orange County firefighter sets backfires to rob a wildfire of fuel Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif. A wildfire fanned by Santa Ana winds forced evacuation of 1,500 homes. The homes in Anaheim and the city of Orange, bordering Cleveland National Forest, were protected by fire crews and there were no reports of damage by midafternoon, said Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Dennis Shell.

An Orange County firefighter maneuvers to get away from a backfire that was just set to rob a wildfire of fuel Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif.

Smoke from a wildfire driven by Santa Ana winds drifts over downtown Los Angeles Monday, Feb. 6, 2006. A wildfire pushed by Santa Ana winds spread over 800 acres of the Cleveland National Forest near Orange County, Calif., suburbs.