Day 6: Fighting fires — and fatigue

CDF firefighter Josh Balboa keeps a close eye on the Harris fire’s perimeter near Lyons Canyon road.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Orange County Fire Authority firefighters Cameron Eing, left and Dan Steele assemble their cots near the end of Silverado Canyon Road with the glow of the Santiago fire burning in the background.  (Lori Shepler / LOs Angeles Times)

Helicopters fighting Slide fire in the San Bernadino Mountains lined up over Green Valley Lake to pick water.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A firefighting helicopter refills with water from Green Valley Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Jess Coakley, left, Branden Martin and Derick Kirby, firefighters from Lassen County, extinguish a smoldering tree in Crab Flats in the San Bernardino Mountains.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Forest Service firefighter Roy Leckbee can’t hide his fatigue at a morning briefing today in the San Bernardino Mountains. He had worked 16 straight hours fighting blazes near Green Valley Lake.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Fire evacuees Joe Flynn, left, and his cousin, Tami Swartz, pack up their belongings to leave the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot in San Diego, where they have been since Monday.  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Boy Scout Andy Brooks of La Jolla helps take down tents at Qualcomm Stadium today.  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Smoke rises near the Palomar Mountain Observatory, which houses the 200-inch Hale Telescope.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighter Josh Balboa monitors the Harris fire in southern San Diego County.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A blaze burns along Honey Springs Road east of San Diego.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Tijuana firemen, or bomberos, crossed the border to help U.S. crews battle the Harris fire just north of the international border. David Cerron, the group’s supervisor, points to some areas he suspects may still have hot spots.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Tijuana firemen, or bomberos, crossed the border to help U.S. crews battle the Harris fire just north of the international border. Marc Capetillo and Curtiss Fortune, both with the Bureau of Land Mangement, share a meal of burritos with Javier Garcia, right, of the Tijuana Fire Department.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Pat Halpain holds her 4 year-old daughter Haley at Steele Canyon High School that has become an evacuation center for those fleeing the Harris Fire. The Halpain family had already spent 6 days in the shelter and are hoping to return to their home on Saturday.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A tanker drops a load of fire retardant on a burning hillside near Lyon’s Canyon while fighting the Harris Fire in San Diego County.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)