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Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Firefighter Dennis Navle, right, hoses down a smoking log as he and Robert Smith work hot spots of the Ponderosa Fire near Paynes Creek, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the Ponderosa Fire that has destroyed 64 homes and burned more than 27,000 acres.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Dusty Hoetger watches as smoke rises from the Ponderosa Fire along Highway 36 near Paynes Creek, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the Ponderosa Fire that has destroyed 64 homes and burned more than 27,000 acres.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
A damaged truck sits among other remains, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012, at a rural house site outside Manton, Calif., where a huge wildfire burned through on Saturday, forcing residents to evacuate. The Ponderosa Fire, which has scorched about 38 square miles, was 50 percent contained Wednesday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The threat to homes about 35 miles east of Redding has dropped from 3,500 earlier this week to roughly 200 residences. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
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Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Dusty Hoetger watches as smoke rises from the Ponderosa Fire along Highway 36 near Paynes Creek, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the Ponderosa Fire that has destroyed 64 homes and burned more than 27,000 acres. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
A crew from PG&E works Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012, to restore power to a rural subdivision overrun by fire by the Ponderosa Fire outside Manton, Calif. The fire continued to grow Thursday, burning through 44 square miles after burning 84 homes and other buildings in an area about 30 miles southwest of Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
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Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Dusty Hoetger watches as smoke rises from the Ponderosa Fire along Highway 36 near Paynes Creek, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the Ponderosa Fire that has destroyed 64 homes and burned more than 27,000 acres. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Firefighter Dennis Navle, left, hoses down a smoking log as he and Robert Smith work hot spots of the Ponderosa Fire near Paynes Creek, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the Ponderosa Fire that has destroyed 64 homes and burned more than 27,000 acres.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Smoke and steam rise as a firefighter hoses down hot spots of the Ponderosa Fire near Paynes Creek, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the Ponderosa Fire that has destroyed 64 homes and burned more than 27,000 acres. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Fire retardant is sprayed on trees surrounding a home as a precaution, as the Ponderosa Fire nears Mineral Calif., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the Ponderosa Fire that has destroyed 64 homes and burned more than 27,000 acres.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Bonnie Davis packs her crystal in preparation of a potential evacuation, if the Ponderosa Fire threatens her home in Mineral, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the Ponderosa Fire that has destroyed 64 homes and burned more than 27,000 acres. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Lorri Whittenburg, left, hers her mother, Bonnie Davis pack her crystal in preparation that she might have to evacuate if the Ponderosa Fire threatens her home in Mineral, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the Ponderosa Fire that has destroyed 64 homes and burned more than 27,000 acres. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
A helicopter loads up with fire retardant Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, while fighting the Ponderosa Fire, which has destroyed 67 homes and 20 outbuildings about 30 miles southeast of Redding, Calif. Helicopters and air tankers doused the spearhead of the fire on the southeastern flank to keep it from running up Battle Creek Canyon and threatening Lassen Volcanic National Park. The fire was about 6 miles west of the mountain community of Mineral, the gateway to the park. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
Angie Nelson gets ready to get off work Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012 at a coffee shop in Shingletown, Calif., and return home for the first time since Saturday, when she and her family had to evacuate their home as the massive Ponderosa Fire bore down on it. Nelson said her four chilldren had their first day of school for the year after sleeping on their grandmother's floor and wondering if their house would be there when they got back. Nelson said their home survived the fire. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
A helicopter loads up with fire retardant Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, while fighting the Ponderosa Fire, which has destroyed 67 homes and 20 outbuildings about 30 miles southeast of Redding, Calif. Helicopters and air tankers doused the spearhead of the fire on the southeastern flank to keep it from running up Battle Creek Canyon and threatening Lassen Volcanic National Park. The fire was about 6 miles west of the mopuntain community of Mineral, the gateway to the park. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
A helicopter drops into Battle Creek Canyon outside Mineral, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 with a load of fire retardant for the spearhead of the Ponderosa Fire. Fire officials said they were trying to stop the spread of the fire with retardant and water drops to keep it from running up the canyon and through commercial timberland. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
Cal Fire Division Chief Scott Lindgren explains efforts to contain the Ponderosa Fire to Tehama County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Mike Paisley on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 outside Mineral, Calif. Lindgren said helicopter and air tanker drops were focused on the spearhead of the fire deep in Battle Creek Canyon, where bulldozers and hand crews cannot get at it on the steep canyon walls. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
Beth Glenn, whose family owns the store, motel, restaurant and other commercial operations in the tiny Northern California mountain town of Mineral talks Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 about living with a massive wildfire just 6 1/2 miles west of town. She said she is not nervous, coming from a family of firefighters, and lived for many years with the fires in Southern California. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
From left, Kelly Strong, Jane Carney and Sherrill Jenkins, owners of a vacation home in the community of Mineral, Calif., watch helicopters drop water and fire retardant on the Ponderosa Fire. The women said they have gathered belongings from the vacation house and stacked them downstairs in case they get the order to evacuate. The Ponderosa Fire is 57 percent contained, with full containment expected early next week. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
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Jeff Barnard | AP
A helicopter drops fire retardant on the Ponderosa Fire deep in Battle Creek Canyon on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 west of Mineral, Calif. The Ponderosa Fire is 57 percent contained, with full containment expected early next week. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
