hundreds of acres and coming dangerously close to homes. >> my sister got everybody out and we came back for the dogs and a couple of things. >> reporter: firefighters hauled their hoses to the front lines as some nervous homeowners used garden hoses to help out. extreme dry air, record heat and gusty winds have communities across the southwest on high alert. >> we staffed additional resources in the high-hazard areas. >> reporter: the heat wave could be a record breaker with some california cities expecting triple-digits through thursday. near l.a., a dehydrated hiker got caught off guard and was plucked from the heat by helicopter. red flag warnings are in effect for 15 million people. fires are popping up across the southwest. smoke from this blaze so dense it blocked the afternoon sun. in prescott, arizona, firefighters scrambled through the forest as dozens of nearby residents left their homes behind. hundreds of people in fritch, texas, are still evacuated after