Carrie Walczynski, right, shows her gratitude toward firefighters by writing “Thank You Heroes” on her driveway on the 2000 block of East Canyon Drive in Wrightwood. She gets help from her son Drew, 3, and neighbor Emily Bennett, 8. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Two motorists show their happiness as they drive on Highway 2 toward their home in Wrightwood, where evacuation orders were lifted at noon. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Smoke and flames rise in a controlled burn along Lone Pine Canyon Road in Wrightwood. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Smoke rises from a controlled burn conducted along Lone Pine Canyon Road in Wrightwood. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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John Morales surveys the remains of his vehicles and other belongings ruined by the Sheep fire on his land on the 1700 block of Mt. Zion Road in San Bernardino. It was his land where Forest Service worker Bobby Wright kept his dogs, all of which died in the fire. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighter marks the site on the 1700 block of Mt. Zion Road in San Bernardino where crews buried the remains of one of the 20 dogs belonging to Forest Service worker Bobby Wright that were killed in the Sheep fire. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
An air attack water-dropping helicopter is dwarfed by Mormon Rocks as it lands to pick up a load along Highway 138 in San Bernardino. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
The Crane Valley Hotshots hike in the San Bernardino National Forest, taking care of remnants of the Sheep fire. The blaze that began Saturday forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in the mountaintop community of Wrightwood and continued to threaten some 2,000 homes on Monday, said Kristel Johnson of the U.S. Forest Service. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Crews walk the eastern edge of Wrightwood, a focal point of efforts over the weekend. Firefighters at one point engaged in an all-out battle against the blaze on the towns eastern edge. The fire was 20% contained as of Monday morning. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A fire crew walks amid charred terrain left from the Sheep fire. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Capt. Jerry Daoust of the Lakeside, Calif., fire department, meets with other firefighters on Lone Pine Canyon Road as a nearby hillside burns in the San Bernardino National Forest. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The sun sets over a charred patch of San Bernardino National Forest as the Sheep fire begins to settle down Sunday evening. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters make their way up a hill where they will light a controlled burn to slow down the Sheep fire as it makes its way toward the small town of Wrightwood. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters put out hot spots on a hilltop off of Lone Pine Canyon Road on the eastern edge of Wrightwood. Three homes burned shortly after the blaze began Saturday afternoon, and officials say they believe more structures have been damaged since then. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Ventura County Fire Capt. Brendan Ripley stands near a flare-up of a brush fire that had burned over 50 acres of land in Thousand Oaks by Sunday evening. The fire was 65% contained as of 4 p.m., fire officials say. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
No structures have been damaged in the Thousand Oaks area, as firefighters have kept the flames from nearby million-dollar homes. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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A helicopter draws water from the south shore of Lake Sherwood, preparing to douse a small brush fire that is burning near Thousand Oaks south of the 101 Freeway. (Eddy Hartenstein / Los Angeles Times)
A helicopter drops a load of water on a ridge in Thousand Oaks. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Ventura County firefighter Chase Morgan walks through wildfire smoke Sunday afternoon. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
A DC-10 air tanker drops fire retardant Sunday afternoon as the Sheep fire marches close to homes on the eastern edge of Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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On the eastern outskirts of Wrightwood, the Sheep fire moved closer to homes Sunday as the fire continued to burn out of control in the San Gabriel Mountains. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
The blaze threatens Wrightwood, where a firefighter shifts to a new position on the eastern edge of the community. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A helicopter, gray amid the smoke, prepares to make a water drop in the San Gabriel Mountains. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Hundreds of firefighters were dispatched to the blaze, which began Saturday in the Lytle Creek area, east of Mt. Baldy and west of the Cajon Pass. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Crews watch as the Sheep fire jumps Lone Pine Canyon Road. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Wrightwood resident Kevin Steele, 33, is ready to evacuate, having loaded some of his belongings in a pickup. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Marcos Haigh, 36, was among those prepared to leave town quickly. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A focal point of firefighting efforts has been along Lone Pine Canyon Road, where the Sheep fire has raged. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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As fire edged closer to the community of Wrightwood on Sunday, crews created a line of defense. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Los Padres Hotshots make plans as the Sheep fire races closer to Wrightwood. Officials were hoping to make a stand southeast of the town to prevent the flames from moving into the town proper, with both crews on the ground and air support. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters on the eastern edge of the Sheep fire. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
The Los Padres Hotshots firefighting crew prepares to go into action. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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In Wrightwood, smoke billows above homes. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Many in Wrightwood have obeyed mandatory evacuation orders as flames encroach on the community. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A freight train crosses Highway 138 at Mormon Rocks in the Cajon Pass as smoke rises from the Sheep fire. As of early Sunday, the fire’s acreage had doubled to 3,500 acres, and three homes had burned. Parts of Wrightwood were under mandatory evacuation. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Along Lone Pine Canyon Road in San Bernardino County, crews light backfires in an effort to contain the Sheep fire. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Robert Tristan of the Fulton Hotshots works along Lone Pine Canyon Road. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Smoke dims the morning sun at the site of the fire. More than 500 firefighters from the Forest Service and San Bernardino were deployed in an uphill effort to contain the flames. By Sunday morning, the fire was 10% contained. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
On Saturday, two firefighters keep an eye on flames as they approach the Mormon Rocks area. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Officials take stock along Lone Pine Canyon Road. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)