Crews gain ground on wildfire north of Los Angeles (AP)

A Los Angeles Fire Department helicopter drops water on a hillside subdivision on the outskirts of Palmdale, Calif. on Friday, July 30, 2010 to help combat wildfires. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)AP - A wildfire smoldered in the high desert north of Los Angeles Saturday, spewing plumes of thick smoke that promted air quality warnings as hundreds of firefighters worked to contain the 2-day-old blaze.