WINNING BATTLE FIREFIGHTERS GAINING COMMAND OF INFERNO.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry and Greg Botonis Staff Writer

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Lower temperatures and higher humidity helped 2,000 firefighters begin taking control of the San Francisquito Canyon brush fire that blackened more than 26,000 acres.

Green Valley residents also Saturday started filtering back to their homes - before the evacuation was officially lifted at 6 p.m. - and were thankful their town had survived.

``The town is beautiful. It's still green and it's beautiful,'' said Green Valley resident Robyn Casey, who said she kissed the floor of her house when she got home Saturday afternoon.

To a passing neighbor Casey asked: ``Is the community center still standing and the grocery store still there? We'll be fine then. Thank God for making firemen.''

Resident Tony McMann posted in front of his home a four-foot by five-foot sign: ``'Thank you! To all who helped save Green Valley.''

Said McMann: ``We appreciate everything they did.''

But fire officials expect it will be five more days before the blaze is fully contained, depending on the behavior of the area's erratic winds.

``What we're worried about now is the flareups of unburned fuel and the winds that could cause those flareups,'' said U.S. Forest Service information assistant Diana Arthur.

The fire burned nine houses and mobile homes, mostly scattered along San Francisquito Canyon Road south of Green Valley, and mostly burned on Thursday when the blaze raced over 20,000 acres. Fire officials said they saved about 65 homes in the same area.

Firefighters said they cut brush around the homes, sprayed them with fire-retardant foam, and then retreated out of the path of the flames.

``We did everything possible to protect those houses,'' Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Henry Rodriguez said. ``The intensity of the fire meant we had to get out.''

Driving along San Francisquito Canyon Road south of Green Valley provides an eerie sight: blackened hills, scorched chimneys standing among the ashes of a home, then an untouched house surrounded by a green lawn.

Green Valley resident Ron Winkel and his two dogs sat out the fire at his house, watching as the flames came within 200 feet.

``We had a scare. The flames were 100 feet high on the other side of those trees,'' said Winkel, standing on the driveway in front of his house and pointing to a line of oak trees. ``If the wind was different we would have had a serious problem.''

Winkel, who has lived in the community for seven years, said: ``We had 20 firetrucks on these two streets. We had water drops and the whole thing right next to us.''

While the roadblocks remained in force Saturday, some people sneaked home along dirt fire roads. Others were let past the roadblocks if they said they needed to get medicine or other necessities forgotten during the evacuation.

Residents served hundreds of firefighters dinner Friday night and Saturday night at the Green Valley Community Club. The firefighters ate London broil, tri-tip, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, carne asada, pork ribs - meat donated by the residents and a church group - on Friday night, and hamburgers, hot dogs, spaghetti and salads Saturday night.

``It's a nice way to get a hot meal and a thank you,'' said Jeff McCracken, a Green Valley resident and a call firefighter.

Heart and Soul cafe owner Cathay Bemiller stayed at her Green Valley business during the fire, fixing hundreds of sandwiches and serving cookies and sodas to firefighters and lawmen. Her restroom was popular, too.

``I'm pretty much sold out now,'' Bemiller said Saturday.

Some firefighters remained on watch Saturday around the community while others manned the fire lines, doused hot spots and removed debris.

``We're all staged here to make sure nothing flares up again,'' said U.S. Forest Service firefighter Steve Snyder, who came from Shasta-Trinity National Forests in Northern California to fight the blaze.

Before they were let back in, residents had to endure rumors about what had happened - including one they said was passed on by sheriff's deputies Friday that the whole town had burned.

``I'm anxious to go home but terrified of what I might find when I get there,'' said a Green Valley newcomer, Elizabeth Stearns, who was waiting at a roadblock two miles north of the town. ``I heard from a neighbor that my home wasn't touched but my fruit trees are all burnt. That was yesterday though.''

Said a 20-year Green Valley resident, who asked that his name not be used: ``I just wish someone could tell me if my home's gone. I just want to know. They won't let me up there, so I just sit here and wait. This is the worst thing I have ever seen out here. It's just incredible.''

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) A water bucket-toting helicopter crosses a sun partly obscured by smoke from the San Francisquito Canyon fire that has burned more than 26,000 acres.

(2 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) An Edison worker cleaning up after the San Francisquito Canyon brush fire cuts power lines from a pole while some of the pieces are still burning.

(3 -- color in AV edition only) Firefighters use water and a bulldozer to make sure a compost pile burned by the San Francisquito Canyon fire is fully extinguished.

(4 -- ran in SAC edition only) A firefighter battling the San Francisquito Canyon blaze walks past one of Green Valley's four-legged residents.

(5 -- ran in AV edition only) Firefighters use water and heavy equiptment to make sure a compost pile won't flare up again.

(6 -- ran in AV edition only) An Edison worker cleaning up after the San Francisquito Canyon brush fire cuts power lines on broken telephone poles while some of the pieces are still burning.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News