Flames Spread Over 9,200 Acres : Fire: Authorities said it may take four or five days to contain a blaze that scampered from a Camp Pendleton training exercise into canyons of Orange and Riverside counties.

A brush fire that raged unchecked for a second day spread into the rugged canyons of southern Orange and Riverside counties Thursday, blackening more than 9,200 acres and filling the sky with ash that left fine deposits on cars and lawns as far away as Long Beach.

The blaze began Wednesday morning during a military exercise at the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County. It crossed into Orange and Riverside counties and burned in narrow canyons near the Cleveland National Forest.

At nightfall, the fire was threatening the Riverside County village of Rancho Carrillo, a cluster of small horse ranches east of the Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park. A contingent of firefighters on about 50 fire trucks were called to battle the flames.

They were among the nearly 800 firefighters who battled the blaze all day under a sun turned to an angry red ball by billowing clouds of smoke.

Despite the brush fire’s massive size, however, no structures were lost. But because it was burning in such rugged terrain, officials predicted that the blaze may take four or five days to contain.

On Thursday, the flames raced

through thick fields of chaparral and groves of old oak and pepper trees. Carcasses of field mice and rabbits littered the bleak landscape. A fawn was seen trying to forage among the embers.

Keeping tabs on the general direction of the fire proved to be a daunting task for the army of firefighters, who were being hampered by capricious winds that picked up shortly after dawn Thursday.

“It’s bouncing back and forth in all directions,” Marine Gunnery Sgt. Roy L. Miller said.

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Suzanne Olson said only three buildings have been threatened by the fire, and none were homes.

“There’s not a whole lot out there. It is just wide open space,” she said.

Olson said the fire appeared at one point to be headed in the direction of about seven houses that are in Verdugo Canyon. “We told folks that if they want to evacuate, it’s entirely voluntary,” she said.

One resident who decided to stay was Jack Barnes, owner of an expansive thoroughbred ranch off the Ortega Highway, who went about his business while ignoring the red cloud of smoke that billowed over a nearby ridge line.

Barnes said he had been through occasional fires in the area and did not fear for his house.

“I ain’t evacuating, but I might have to throw some sprinklers on,” he said. “Fires don’t bother me. This happens all the time.”

In Rancho Carrillo, residents were told not to try to evacuate because the long dirt road to Ortega Highway would be too dangerous. Instead, they were instructed to gather in a large corral if the fire moved toward the village while firefighters set up equipment.

Residents also took special care to protect their horses. Marty Myers said she rubbed petroleum jelly into the nostrils of her four $20,000 Peruvian horses to keep them from spooking when they smell smoke. “These horses are our entire investment,” she said.

Eight air tankers and four water-dropping helicopters bombarded the flames, while engine and hand crews worked from the ground. Agencies participating in the firefighting effort included the Orange County Fire Department and several city fire crews; firefighters from San Diego and Riverside counties, the U.S. Forest Service, the state Division of Forestry and the San Diego city Fire Department.

Marine Lt. Patrick Gibbons said that exact cause of the fire was under investigation. Marines were training in the area when the fire began.