A fire that started near the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia on Monday afternoon was moving toward Simi Valley overnight, officials said.

Sheriff's deputies issued a precautionary evacuation order for unincorporated areas north of the city. Included were residents living in areas along Tapo Canyon, Ditch and Bennett roads.

Sheriff's Sgt. Don Aguilar said late Monday that he understood that the fire was about three miles east of the county line.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department, however, could not confirm that location.

"Right now it's 1,200 acres and growing, with 20 percent containment," said Sam Padilla, an inspector for the department. "It's not in Ventura County yet."

The Sheriff's Department conducted the Simi evacuations in unincorporated county territory, but city officials said it was not necessary yet within the city of 125,000.

The fire broke out shortly after 2 p.m. on the western side of Santa Clarita. The blaze more than doubled in size from 500 to 1,200 acres during the day, officials said.

Bill Nash, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department, said that more than 100 fire engines and more than 300 firefighters from both counties were already committed to battling the blaze.

"We're concerned," Nash said Monday evening. "Simi Valley is a big city. There's a lot of property. We want to make sure it is protected. We are going to do everything we can to keep it from getting there, but we're going to be ready for it if it does. We have fire engines staging in Simi Valley as we speak."

Another fire was also headed west toward Castaic and Ventura County, but Los Angeles County fire officials said they had slowed its progress since the Buckweed blaze was reported at 1 p.m. Sunday. By Monday evening, about 5,500 homes and about 15,000 people had been evacuated, and the fire had consumed more than 35,000 acres. Fifteen homes were destroyed. "We have been able to hold it for the last four hours or so," said Padilla said.

Ranch fire near Piru, Fillmore

Farther north, smoke filled the sky in Fillmore and Piru, as residents readied themselves Monday for the arrival of the flames of the Ranch fire, which slowly chewed through the hills above the small towns.

While many packed medicine and important papers, the majority of the residents stayed home despite fire officials' recommendations that residents evacuate.

As of Monday evening, the Ranch fire had burned 41,000 acres and was 10 percent contained. Three homes and four outbuildings had been destroyed. Along with homes, the condor sanctuary and the Sespe Wilderness are threatened by the fire, which began Sunday.

More than 700 firefighters battled the blaze Monday, fighting winds gusting to 55 mph. The eastern portion of the fire was moving south toward Highway 126 and was within 200 feet of the road on Monday evening, and the western edge was at Hopper Canyon, between Fillmore and Piru.

By the evening, wind gusts had died down along the 126 and had slowed to 20 mph in Piru Canyon.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized federal funds to help fight the Ranch fire. The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state's eligible firefighting costs.

The high winds fueled fires in cities throughout the county, with firefighters jumping on blazes in Simi Valley, Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura and quickly extinguishing them.

In the afternoon, deer scampered about the charred hillsides as helicopters dipped water from the lake to be used to fight nearby fires.

Many in this small town have lived through fires before, including the massive October 2003 fire, which burned almost 64,000 acres. Despite a recommendation from fire officials that they evacuate, they said they wouldn't leave their homes until they could see the flames leaping from the ridges above town.

Resources are tight

But Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Barry Parker warned against it because powerful gusts could easily fan the fire and push it into town.

Because of the number of fires around Southern California, resources are tight, Parker said.

"It's a false sense of security," he said. "Don't expect a lot of resources."

Fire officials also recommended evacuation for residents on the eastern edge of Fillmore because the fire was approaching Hopper Canyon Ridge.

Some Piru residents watched the smoky sky on Monday and went about their normal lives.

At Phil's Livestock, a ranch for animals used in Hollywood films, they were laying hose around the property but didn't expect to move the more than 300 yaks, buffaloes, flamingoes and other animals on the farm outside of Piru.

"They've been around bombs (in films), a little fire isn't going to bother them," said Mike Fanning, who was helping ready the farm.

Early Monday morning, Carlos Avila and his neighbors were leaning on a fence after taking their trash out, and looking out at the sky.

"It's been worse before," Avila said.

But he did tell his wife to pack up their medicine and some bare essentials in case things got worse.

Some residents were so worried they took firefighters' advice and moved into the Fillmore shelter.

By early afternoon Monday, about 12 families, most of them from Piru, were at the evacuation center at the Veterans Memorial Building, 511 Second St. in Fillmore.

Richard and Brandy Seher and their 2-year-old son, as well as the family's pets, arrived at the shelter after a night of strong winds and thick smoke.

"It definitely was not a good night for sleep," Brandy Seher said.

"This is our first disaster. We'll have a little experience if this ever happens again," she said.

Personnel with Ventura County animal services took the Seher family's pets to Simi Valley, she said.

Veronica Rodriguez, 23, of Piru, evacuated her son and two siblings from their home, took photographs and two or three days worth of clothes and diapers. They arrived Monday morning, but Rodriguez's mother and father stayed in Piru to wet down their house.

The fire was not much of a worry to her family, Rodriguez said. "We're kind of used to it. It always burns" in the Piru area, she said.

The shelter could be open all week, and overflow room is available at Fillmore High School and a youth center adjacent to the memorial building, said shelter manager Michael Jawitz. Assistance will be provided in transferring animals to shelters in Simi Valley, Camarillo or Ventura.

Fire moving south and west

The city of Fillmore declared a local disaster Monday, enabling city officials to make emergency purchases and decisions, said Deputy City Manager Bill Bartels.

The Ranch fire moved south and west, circling Piru, but remained about five miles from the downtown area. Firefighters were staged all along Highway 126, to make sure the Ranch fire didn't jump the road.

Firefighters weren't able to gauge exactly where the fire was headed because of difficult flying conditions, Parker said.

Unable to attack the fire directly because of the windy conditions, firefighters mainly worked to protect structures.

Ventura County Battalion Chief Mike Sidlinger said because a lot of the area was burned in the 2003 fire, there's a lot of young grass that is highly flammable, so the fire moved quickly.

In other fires in Ventura County:

n Ventura County crews knocked down a fire Monday afternoon near Hitch Boulevard and Ventavo Drive in Moorpark. The size of the fire was unknown, but the fire department said crews at the site said "a considerable amount of ground" had burned in a lemon orchard. Fire officials reported a hand crew was mopping up hot spots shortly after 3:30 p.m.

n Firefighters worked to keep a fire in a Ventura barranca from igniting homes near Modoc Street and Nevada Avenue. Crews from city and county fire departments responded to the fire about 4 p.m. and reported it knocked down by 4:45 p.m.

n In Simi Valley, crews extinguished a fire in an attic of a home in the 3200 block of Valarie Avenue. Four people, including two in the home and two bystanders, were checked by medical personnel, but none had to be taken to a hospital.

n Crews from county and city fire departments fought a small brush fire near North Petit Avenue and Foothill Road in Ventura, where about a third of an acre burned.

n The Rose Avenue offramp on Highway 101 in Oxnard was closed about noon, as firefighters put out a small fire that burned debris and some palm trees nearby. The ramp reopened at 1 p.m.