Day 7: Fires and Rubble

Jeff Schaab sprays water on trees outside a home in Simi Valley as flames reach the edge of the backyard.  (Bob Carey / LAT)

Firefighter-paramedic Chuck Manenete checks brush crew member Jared Smith’s eyes while Smith’s unit--the Redding Hotshots--were to protect homes on Kuehner Drive in Simi Valley.  (Bob Carey / LAT)

A Ventura County firefighter lights a backfire to prevent flames from reaching homes along Kuehner Drive in Simi Valley.  (Bob Carey / LAT)

A Los Angeles City fire helicopter drops a graceful arc of water on smoldering flames south of the 118 Freeway near Santa Susana Pass in Simi Valley. Firefighters were trying hard to stop the fire from reaching into Box Canyon.  (Bob Carey / LAT)

San Miguel firefighters watch as a Ventura County fire helicopter drops water on a fire south of the 118 freeway and the Santa Susana Pass  (Bob Carey / LAT)

California Department of Forestry firefighters in Piru face wall of flames near homes.  (Spencer Weiner / LAT)

A Ventura County fire department helicopter drops water on flames south of the 118 freeway near the Santa Susana Pass.  (Bob Carey / LAT)

A firefighter stands guard on the roof of a home in Devore.  (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)

Several homes at the east end of Simi Valley were spared Monday after Ventura County firefighting helicopters made dozens of water drops on the neighborhood and surrounding hills.  (Stephen Osman / LAT)

Simi Valley resident Tom Brown uses a garden hose to spray water on the roof of his Tapley St. home as fire approaches.  (Stephen Osman / LAT)

Terra Spellman recovers unburned glass figurines after a wildfire destroyed her family home in Devore.  (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)

Wyatt Spellman stands on what used to be his small bed in the smoldering ruble of his family’s home in Devore.  (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)

Neighbors watch as fire sweeps through the hills at the east end of Simi Valley today. Several homes were threatened off Ardenwood Avenue as the fire made its way down a steep hill below Highway 118.  (Stephen Osman / LAT)

A Devore resident attempts to put out a fire near his garage. Although the garage was destroyed, his home was saved.  (Gary Friedman / LAT)

Firefighters battle to prevent flames from crossing Highway 18 and moving on to the communities of Crestline and Lake Arrowhead.  (Luis Sinco / LAT)

A California Department of Forestry aerial tanker drops a load of retardant on one of the many hot spots near Ramona.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

A strike team from Orange County stands by as an aerial tanker drops a load of retardant on a hotspot near Ramona.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

A strike team from Orange County Fire Authority stood their ground against a wall of flames and saved this home near Ramona.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

An Orange County firefighter battles flames near a home in Ramona.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

A firefighter sets backfires late Sunday along Highway 18 to prevent flames from reaching Crestline and Lake Arrowhead.  (Luis Sinco / LAT)

A wildfire burns below Highway 18 at the Cliffhanger Inn in Crestline.  (Luis Sinco / LAT)

Wildfires range across the ridges of the San Bernardino Mountains near Crestline and Lake Arrowhead.  (Luis Sinco / LAT)

Firefighter Jesse Monzillo sprays foam detergent onto homes in Lytle Creek to help protect them from nearby flames.  (Karen Tapia-Andersen /LAT)

Volunteer Jon MacCulloch brings a horse to a temporary corral at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. The animals were removed from the path of the Simi Valley fire.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)