WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers OMINOUS SIGN—Smoke from the Sesnon Fire, above, fills the air at Yosemite Avenue and Katherine Street in Simi Valley on Monday at the beginning of what was to be a weeklong fight with brush fires burning in the hills between L.A. and Ventura counties. Leslie Crane, at right, evacuates horses from the Stony Point Ranch in Chatsworth the same day. Fire officials are now saying that the Sesnon Fire, which burned 14,125 acres and damaged or destroyed 68 structures as of Thursday morning, was started by sparks from a wind-downed power line. Offshore winds, high temperatues and dry conditions are predicted to persist through today, so residents should continue to be aware of local conditions, the fire department said.

MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers QUICK HIT—A Los Angeles City Fire helicopter drops water on a hot spot from the Sesnon Fire near Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Highway 118 in Chatsworth on Monday. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers