An Orange County Fire Authority helicopter flies past a sunset reddened by smoke from the Valley Fire in eastern San Diego County.

A 747 cargo aircraft, converted to operate as an aerial firefighting tanker, drops a load of fire retardant over a section of the Valley Fire in eastern San Diego County. The retardant is dyed red so firefighters on the ground and in spotter aircraft can determine which areas have had the retardant applied.

Two US Forest Service firefighters look over an area of the Valley Fire in eastern San Diego County that had burned earlier in the day.

A fire crew monitors burning vegetation as it creeps toward a house in eastern San Diego County, where the Valley Fire was burning.

A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) “Helitack” crew - brought to fire scenes by helicopter - climbs up a hill to a spot where they’ll start clearing brush to create a fire break - a strip of ground free of flammable vegetation that will hopefully halt any flames.

A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) “Helitack” crew, deployed to help fight the Valley Fire in eastern San Diego County, walks toward the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department helicopter that will take them back to a base of operations. They’re obscured by dust thrown up by the helicopter’s rotor, not by smoke.

Motorists drive east on California Highway 8, leaving behind a sunset reddened by smoke from the Valley Fire in eastern San Diego County.