Falls fire spreads near Lake Elsinore

Firefighters mop up hot spots along South Main Divide in Cleveland National Forest.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Lance Thibault climbs up a steep ridge to reach South Main Divide in Cleveland National Forest as firefighters continue to battle the 1,500-acre Falls fire near Lake Elsinore.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters drive their trucks next to a dangerous wall of flame while battling the Falls fire on Highway 74 just above Lake Elsinore on the Ortega Highway.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighters with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection drive toward a dangerous wall of flame while battling the fire.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A water-dropping helicopter flies through thick smoke and active flame.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A freelance photographer points to active flame as a hillside burns.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Samantha Wethington of Lake Elsinore evacuates pets and removes belongings as the fire burns near her home.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Ortega Highway was closed after the fire jumped the road. Dozens of homes were ordered evacuated.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Residents Katera Hutchins, left, and mother Janna Lucas watch as flames approach their Lake Elsinore-area neighborhood as the fire grew.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Lee Reeder of Riverside stops to photograph the fire.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The fire sends dramatic plumes of smoke and flame into the sky.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A fixed-wing aircraft drops fire retardant on the fast-moving brush fire as it crests a ridge.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)