Firefighters battle a wildfire near Santa Clarita, Calif., July 18, 2004. Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate their homes from the Foothill Fire, one of several blazes authorities were battling in the state.
Firefighters battle a wildfire near Santa Clarita, Calif., July 18, 2004.
Firefighters confer at a command center as they battle a wildfire near Santa Clarita, Calif., July 18, 2004.
A plane drops fire retardant on a wildfire as firefighters look on, near Santa Clarita, Calif., July 18, 2004.
Battalion Chief Robert Cramer keeps an eye on advancing flames along Placerita Canyon Road as the Foothill fire burns near the 14 Freeway in Santa Clarita, Calif., July 18, 2004.
Firefighters work to control Baby, a potbelly pig, as a fire closes in around them in Santa Clarita, Calif., July 18, 2004.
Martha Delgado, right, and her daughter Edith watch as a brush fire approaches a ranch where they were housing seven horses, east of Santa Clarita, Calif., July 17, 2004.
U.S. Forest Service firefighter Wesley Husted attacks flames along Placerita Canyon Road, east of Santa Clarita, Calif., July 17, 2004.
A wildfire crests a hill at the end of San Fernando Road as firefighting units gather along Highway 14 in Newhall, Calif., July 17, 2004.
Flames from a wildfire burn along Highway 14 in Newhall, Calif., July 17, 2004.
Smoke from a wildfire fills the sky at Tucolota Springs, east of Temecula, Calif., July 17, 2004.
A large fire starts to climb the hills in the Newhall Pass near the Interstate 5 and Highway 14 interchange in Newhall, Calif., July 17, 2004.
A firefighter with the Los Angeles County Fire Department lights backfires near state route 14 in Santa Clarita, Calif., July 17, 2004.
Tim Kisabeth, left, points out Yosemite Valley to Nicholas Warner, 13, in Yosemite National Park, Calif., July 16, 2004. The Meadow fire closed trails throughout the park, and smoke obscured some of Yosemite's most scenic views.