By Bruce Chambers
Orange County Register

A small plane dives deep into Williams Canyon to drop fire retardant on the Santiago fire as it moves toward Silverado Canyon in Orange County. The powerful winds that had fueled the wildfires eased significantly Wednesday, and firefighters were able to make progress on several fronts.

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Members of the California Conservation Corps Pomona Fire Crew 1 Support Team joke around Wednesday between jobs at Shiells Park in Fillmore, where they set up a sleeping area for firefighters who need some downtime.

The fires wreaking havoc on much of Southern California have left Ventura County relatively unscathed so far. But fire officials warned Wednesday the county isn't out of danger.

"Just because the wind quit doesn't mean we are out of the woods," said Doug Campbell, a retired firefighter who is now a fire behavior specialist in Ojai. "All you need is the right combination of things" for a massive blaze to start.

The oily chaparral is still extremely dry. The air lacks humidity, and temperatures remain high. The entire county is parched after the driest year on record, and another dry winter is expected. The Santa Ana winds, which acted like a bellows on the fire, are still expected for months.

"This is a major wake-up call for a lot of people who aren't paying attention to the warnings of a dangerous fire season ahead," said Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Barry Parker. "There is still a high (fire) probability just based on the heat."

After 17 fires burned through the county this week, Parker said, he's hopeful the remaining one — the need to update54,716-acre Ranch fire — won't spread any farther. Although one strong wind could change all that in a second.The only home destroyed in the fires was an abandoned trailer on the shores of Lake Piru that was destroyed that burned whenby the Ranch fire moved through the hillsides.

"We are feeling a lot more optimistic because we don't have a major fire burning in Ventura County," Parker said. "However, we are cautious based on the weather conditions that could occur."

Parker and others arestill expecting it will be a few more months before the Santa Ana winds die down.

"The bottom line is that this is the beginning of the Santa Ana season," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "The dry forecast for this winter is one I'd like to be wrong about."

In theLos Padres National Forest, where the Day and Zaca fires burned record amounts of acreage in the past two years, officials are trying to stave off another fire by simplyclosing the entire forest. Resources are stretched thin because firefighters are working so many other blazes across the state, leaving the forest vulnerable. "If we should have a fire start within the forest, it would really tax our resources to the limit," said Joe Pasinato, a Los Padres spokesman. "We are concerned about being able to afford the general public adequate protection if they should go out into the forest."

Once the moisture level of plants dips below 60 percent, the fire threat is deemed critical. It's now hovering in the low 50s, he said.

Pasinato said officials are hoping the Ranch Fire will be contained at the lines being dug in the same places established during last year's Day Fire last year, where young growth can fuel a quick-moving fireU.S. Forest Service chief Gail Kimbell said the nation can expect more wildfires like the ones raging through Southern California as global climate change heats up the world's forests. "Fires are burning hotter and bigger, becoming more damaging and dangerous to people and to property," Kimbell said Wednesday. "Each year, the fire season comes earlier and lasts longer."

Earlier this year, the Ventura County Fire Department announced that the fire season was year-round.

Kimbell said prevention is vital considering the cost of fighting wildfires takes a rising share of the Forest Service budget — about $1.5 billion in fiscal 2006.

Parker said this is a good time to prepare for possible fires. Look around your home for any debris that could catch fire. Clean out gutters filled with leaves after the big winds. Cut any weeds you haven't gotten around to.

The time is now, he said.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.