Calif. wildfire season starts early

Flames rise behind a firefighter with the Type 1 Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC), based out of the Lone Peak Conservation Center in Draper, Utah, as the Springs fire continues to grow on May 3, 2013 near Camarillo, California.

Improving weather conditions over the weekend were helping firefighters get the upper hand on the wildfire, which has grown to 28,000 acres and is less than 60 percent contained.

A column of elite U.S. Forest Service Hotshot firefighters walk along the edge of the black near Hidden Valley at the Springs fire on May 4, 2013 near Camarillo, California.

A firefighter surveys burned hills near Hidden Valley at the Springs fire on May 4, 2013 near Camarillo, California. Improving weather conditions are helping firefighters get the upper hand on the wildfire which has grown to 28,000 acres and is now 56 percent contained.

A man on a rooftop looks at approaching flames as the Springs fire continues to grow on May 3, 2013 near Camarillo, California. The wildfire has spread to more than 18,000 acres on day two and is 20 percent contained.

A rabbit runs from a wildfire burning along the Pacific Coast Highway near Point Mugu State Park in Ventura County, California, on May 3, 2013. Some 4,000 homes were threatened by a growing wildfire northwest of Los Angeles that has forced the closure of California's scenic coastal highway, firefighters said Friday.

A park ranger looks on as wildfire charges back up from Sycamore Canyon inside Pt. Mugu State Park after changing winds on May 3, 2013 in Newbury Park, California. Hundreds of firefighters are battling wind and dry conditions with over 10,000 acres already burned.

AP Photo/Los Angeles Daily News, Hans Gutknecht

A firefighting helicopter makes a drop on a wildfire Friday, May 3, 2013 in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A huge Southern California wildfire burned through coastal wilderness to the beach on Friday then stormed back through canyons toward inland neighborhoods when winds reversed direction.

Wildfire charges back up from Sycamore Canyon inside Pt. Mugu State Park after changing winds on May 3, 2013 in Newbury Park, California. Hundreds of firefighters are battling wind and dry conditions with over 10,000 acres already burned.

A mule deer walks through the charred remains of an oak forest at the Springs fire on May 4, 2013 near Camarillo, California. Improving weather conditions are helping firefighters get the upper hand on the wildfire which has grown to 28,000 acres and is now 56 percent contained.

Thick smoke from wildfire obscures the sun as a Ventura County firefighting helicopter heads to drop a load of water in Pt. Mugu State Park on May 3, 2013 in Newbury Park, California. Hundreds of firefighters continue to battle wind and dry conditions with over 10,000 acres burned.

A cameraman records the wildfire burning along the Pacific Coast Highway near Ventura, Calif., at Point Mugu May 3, 2013.

A firefighter rushes to extinguish the wildfire at the naval base at Point Mugu, Calif., May 3, 2013.

Flame and smoke rise from the naval base at Point Mugu, Calif., May 3, 2013.

A brush fire burns a sign at a shooting range on the beach at Naval Base Ventura County in Southern California May 3, 2013.

Fire department personnel drive along the Pacific Coast Highway near Point Mugu as a thick layer of smoke sits overhead during a wildfire that burned several thousand acres May 2, 2013, in Ventura County, Calif.

Firefighters set backfires to burn off dry brush to protect homes behind a hillside threatened by an out-of-control wildfire on May 2, 2013 in Newbury Park, California. Hundreds of firefighters are battling gusty winds and dry conditions as more than 6,000 acres have already been burned northwest of Los Angeles.

Meanwhile in Northern California, firefighters tackled fires in wine country north of San Francisco.

State fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said the blazes across of California could be an ominous sign. "Statewide, our fire activity is up over 60 percent of normal," Berlant said. "We're a bit drier than normal at this time and seeing conditions that we would usually see in June. If this is an indicator of what's to come, then we're going to be in for a very busy fire season."

A large plum of smoke rises from an out-of-control wildfire on May 2, 2013 in Newbury Park, California. Hundreds of firefighters are battling wind and dry conditions as more than 6,000 acres have already been burned northwest of Los Angeles.

A firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant along a hillside near Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Thursday, May 2, 2013. A 2,000-acre blaze that began in the Camarillo area along U.S. 101 in Ventura County was uncontained, prompting the evacuation of a Thousand Oaks neighborhood and the campus of California State University, Channel Islands.

Firefighting helicopters make water drops onto a hillside behind homes threatened by the out-of-control wildfire on May 2, 2013 in Newbury Park, Calif.

A chemical fire fueled by pesticides and fertilizers continues to burn next to a strawberry farm during an out-of-control wildfire on May 2, 2013 in Camarillo, California.

A U.S. Forestry firefighter prepares to take on an out-of-control wildfire on May 2, 2013 in Camarillo, Calif.

A U.S. Forestry firefighter battles a wall of flame during an out-of-control wildfire on May 2, 2013 in Camarillo, Calif. Hundreds of firefighters face gusty winds and dry conditions as more than 6,000 acres have already been burned northwest of Los Angeles.

An out-of-control wildfire burns in the hillside near a farm on May 2, 2013 in Camarillo, California.

Residents of Newbury Park, Calif., look on as a back fire set by firefighters consumes the hillside behind their homes during an out-of-control wildfire in Camarillo on May 2, 2013. Hundreds of firefighters are battling wind and dry conditions as more than 6,000 acres have already been burned northwest of Los Angeles.

A helicopter makes a water drop on a hotspot over a hill near Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Thursday, May 2, 2013.

A Kern County Fire helicopter makes a water drop on a hotspot over a hill near Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Thursday, May 2, 2013.

A firefighter puts out a fire while mobile homes burn after a blaze broke out during morning rush hour along U.S. 101 in the Camarillo area, about 50 miles west of Los Angeles, May 2, 2013, in Camarillo, Calif.

Farm workers tend the fields as a wildfire burns on a hill in the background, in Camarillo, Calif., Thursday, May 2, 2013.

AP Photo/Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Kent Porter

Rincon Valley fire captain Fred Leunberger watches as a pine tree torches out on the head of the Yellow Fire, above Knights Valley, Calif., Wednesday, May 1, 2013. The fire started early Wednesday morning on the rugged border between Napa and Sonoma Counties and roared through tall stands of pine trees.

A U.S. Forest Service crew conducts a back burn to stop a wildfire burning on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 in Banning, Calif.

Firefighters were able to beat back a powerful wildfire that bore down on a dry Southern California city, limiting the damage to a single house and curbing the threat to hundreds more. But the difficult conditions that helped fuel the 4.5-square-mile blaze in Riverside County could be even worse in parts of the state on Thursday, when winds of 20-30 mph are expected, along with nearly non-existent humidity and an abundance of wildfire fuel.

A wildfire burns in the Banning Bench area of Riverside County on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 in Banning, Calif.

AP Photo/The Press-Enterprise, Terry Pierson

A resident carries a bucket of water to help fight the brush fire burning right up to his property in the hills above Banning, Calif., on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

Flames scorch the hillside north of Banning, Calif., as a brush fire burns in the area Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

Riverside County firefighters working hose lines are engulfed in smoke as they battle a brush fire burning in the hills above Banning, Calif., on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

A firefighter puts out the remaining hot spots in a building that burned as a result of a brush fire in the hills above Banning, Calif., on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

A wildfire burns in the Banning Bench area of Riverside County on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 in Banning, Calif.

A U.S. Forest Service crew member conducts a back burn to stop a wildfire burning on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 in Banning, Calif.

A U.S. Forest Service crew conducts a back burn to stop a wildfire burning on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, in Banning, Calif.

A U.S. Forest Service crew conducts a back burn to stop a wildfire burning on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 in Banning, Calif.

AP Photo/Jason Halley, Chico Enterprise-Record

Cal Fire firefighters battle high winds and rough terrains in the Panther Fire that started about 10 miles north of Butte Meadows, Calif., on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

Cal Fire firefighters battle high winds and rough terrains in the Panther Fire that started just over 10 miles north of Butte Meadows Wednesday, May 1, 2013 in Butte Meadows, Calif.

AP Photo/The Press Democrat, Kent Porter

Fire crews respond to a fire that damaged a home on Wednesday May 1, 2013 in Knights Valley, Calif. Crews battled two small wildfires on Wednesday in California wine country that were pushed by gusty winds.

Cal Fire firefighters battle high winds and rough terrains in the Panther Fire that started just over 10 miles north of Butte Meadows Wednesday, May 1, 2013 in Butte Meadows, Calif.

A wind-driven vegetation fire eats up timber at the Yellow Jacket Ranch east of Highway 128, early Wednesday, May 1, 2013 in Knights Valley, Calif., on the Napa and Sonoma County line. Crews battled two small wildfires on Wednesday in California wine country that were pushed by gusty winds.

Smoke billows over U.S. 101 near Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Thursday, May 2, 2013. The blaze on the fringes of Camarillo and Thousand Oaks broke out Thursday morning and was quickly spread by gusty Santa Ana winds.

Smoke and fire billow over a hill near Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Thursday, May 2, 2013. Authorities ordered evacuations of a neighborhood and a university about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles, where a wildfire is raging close to subdivisions. The blaze on the fringes of Camarillo and Thousand Oaks broke out Thursday morning and was quickly spread by gusty Santa Ana winds.

AP Photo/The Ventura County Star, Ray Meese

Smoke billows from a brush fire near Camarillo Spring Road in Camarillo, Calif., Thursday May 2, 2013.

A firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant along a hill side near homes in Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Thursday, May 2, 2013.

A bulldozer helps clear a hill near a fire in Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Thursday, May 2, 2013. A 2,000-acre blaze that began in the Camarillo area along U.S. 101 in Ventura County was uncontained midday Thursday, prompting the evacuation of a Thousand Oaks neighborhood and the campus of California State University, Channel Islands. At least a half-dozen RVs burned in a parking area enclosed by brushy hills.

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