Photos: Southland brush fires

Ventura County Firefighter Jeff Witt hoses down smoldering brush as crews work to get a line around the blaze. Officials traced the origin of the Camarillo blaze to a homeless encampment near expensive hillside homes along North Loop Drive.
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Residents of about 55 homes in the Highlands neighborhood of Camarillo and the nearby community of Somis were under a voluntary evacuation order as about 300 firefighters and water-dropping helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft battled the fire at its peak.
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Ventura County Fire Capt. Troy Swickard surveys the smoldering canyon. The fire was 60% contained by Tuesday evening.
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A resident of the Camarillo Heights neighborhood watches smoke billowing above homes.
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A firefighter rubs his eyes while battling a blaze that came close to homes in Walnut. The fire was eventually put out.
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Firefighters quickly doused a blaze that burned to the edge of several homes near Crystal Peak Circle and Skyline Drive in Walnut. The fire started in West Covina and raced up a ridge into neighboring Walnut. At the height of the fire, which broke out about 5:30 p.m., residents in 24 homes were evacuated, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
See full story  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Rowland Heights Fire Capt. Jim Fitzpatrick returns to his truck after overseeing the mop-up of the brush fire.
See full story  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)