Wind-Whipped Wildfires

Pedro Villarreal, 53, left, and his niece Lorena Medina, 36, rummage through the ashes of their former belongings Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008, which were destroyed by a wildfire at the Sky Terrace Mobile Lodge, in the Lake View Terrace section of Los Angeles.

A Los Angeles firefighter turns away from heat and smoke and heads for the cover of a fire engine while flames burn near homes in Los Angeles' Granada Hills area, as efforts to control wildfires in Southern California continue Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008.

A deer runs away, across the path of a hand crew which was ordered to retreat from a hillside as flames continued to threaten homes at the top of Louise Avenue in Los Angeles' Granada Hills area during efforts to control wildfires in Southern California Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008.

California Burning — AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Firefighters engaged in structure protection keep watch as flames burn near homes at the top of Louise Ave. in Los Angeles' Granada Hills area as efforts to control wildfires in Southern California continue Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008.

In this satellite image released by NOAA, a giant smoke cloud caused by two huge wildfires driven by strong Santa Ana winds is seen drifting west over the Southern California coastline on Monday, Oct. 13, 2008.

A firefighter battles a blaze in a house ignited by flames from a fast moving brush fire in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 13, 2008. On Tuesday, fire crews were battling three massive wildfires -- two just north of Los Angeles and one in San Diego County, which have charred nearly 13,000 acres, destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate.

A firefighter stands by as two mobile homes go up in flames early Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, north of Los Angeles. Two wildfires driven by strong Santa Ana winds threatened neighborhoods near Los Angeles on Monday, destroying several dozen mobile homes and forcing evacuations.

With fire trucks stationed in background, Costa Mesa firefighters finish up after extinguishing a blaze on Bonita Canyon in Newport Beach, Calif. on Monday afternoon, Oct. 13, 2008. At least two deaths are blamed on the fires, which are spreading fast thanks to Santa Ana winds gusting to 50 mph.

A helicopter drops water on burning mobile homes and cars that have burned from a wind-driven brush fire in Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 13, 2008. Firefighters were struggling with a 3,700-acre blaze in the San Fernando Valley's northeastern corner when a new blaze erupted midmorning a few miles to the west in mountains above the Porter Ranch area.

A cloud of smoke is blown over the freeway near Porter Ranch in Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 13,2008. Two huge wildfires driven by strong Santa Ana winds threatened neighborhoods on the edges of the San Fernando Valley on Monday, killing one person, destroying several dozen mobile homes and forcing frantic evacuations.

Two unidentified men evacuate a horse during a fast moving, wind-driven brush fire in Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 13, 2008. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says one person has been killed in one of the two wildfires burning on the edges of the city.

Traffic snakes up a road as residents flee their hillside homes during a fast-moving, wind-driven brush fire in Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 13, 2008. Intense Santa Ana winds swept into Southern California Monday morning and whipped up a 3,000-acre wildfire, forcing the closure of a major freeway during rush hour and burning mobile homes and industrial buildings.

A Los Angeles Police Department officer leaves a home after notifying residents to evacuate as a fast-moving, wind-driven brush fire approaches in Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. 13, 2008.

A U.S. forest service firefighter battles towering flames burning along Little Tugunga Road, in the Angeles National Forest, about 20 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008. A 3,000-acre blaze has been burning buildings north of Los Angeles, and has forced the closing of a major highway.

Firefighters with the Los Angeles unified command discuss tactics for battling a wildfire Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008, in the Lakeview Terrace section of Los Angeles. The firefighters backed by helicopters and planes gained ground Sunday on the wildfire that destroyed two homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people in a rugged area 20 miles north of downtown.

Firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department battle a wildfire in the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008. Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Ron Haralson says the blaze has charred up to 750 acres in the rugged area of Little Tujunga Canyon, about 20 miles north of downtown.

A water-dumping helicopter fills up at Hansen Dam on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008, in the Lakeview Terrace section of Los Angeles. Firefighters backed by helicopters and planes gained ground Sunday on a wildfire that destroyed two homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people in a rugged area 20 miles north of downtown.

An aircraft drops a load of water on a wildfire, in the Angeles National Forest, about 20 miles north of downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008. About 450 homes were evacuated early Sunday when the blaze threatened homes in the vicinity of Kagel and Lopez canyons.

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