Fire fighters battle the blaze
Residents watch Monday night as fire approaches their homes in Portola Hills, near Lake Forest. Firefighters let the fire burn up to the house, then fended off the flames.
Flames inch towards homes in Portola Hills on Monday night. Firefighters waited to defend the houses until the blaze was a few yards from the property. By 3:00 a.m. Tuesday, the fire was contained.
A plane drops fire retardant on the Santiago Canyon hills Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007, in Silverado, Calif. Mandatory evacuations are in place for the canyon areas northeast of Santiago Canyon Road between Modjeska Canyon Road and Live Oak Canyon Road, including Santiago Estates area in Silverado, Calif.
Firefighters watch a back fire on a hillside in Jamul, Ca., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007. Deadly, wind-whipped wildfires have triggered the largest evacuation in state history, prompting some 500,000 people to flee ahead of flames that have destroyed more than 1,600 homes and continued Wednesday to threaten tens of thousands more.
Exact locations of the fires are subject to change with conditions.
Patricia Halpain holds her daughter Haley, 4, after being evacuated to the Steele Canyon High School in Jamul, Ca., Tuesday, Oct. 23. Halpain said her home was lost last night to the fires. Hundreds of thousands of people -- including many Biola students' families -- have been evacuated. (AP Photo)