Thank you, firefighters.

Say it again. Put it on a sign in your yard. Send it in a note to your local fire department.

Say it, however you can, especially to the ones who have fought — and continue to fight — the wildfires that have burned recklessly across Southern California for days.

In just the last week, as many as 8,500 firefighters at a time have worked to save homes, humans and horses from fires in San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. The Thomas fire, which started in Ventura County and ferociously spread to Santa Barbara County, brought more than 6,000 firefighters into a battle that will rage for some time.

That fire is officially the fifth largest wildfire in modern California history.

In San Diego County’s biggest blaze, the Lilac fire, which started on Thursday near Bonsall and prompted evacuations in Vista and Oceanside, 1,659 total personnel were still working to contain it on Monday.

The fire has injured at least three firefighters, including one who popped a separated shoulder back into place and returned to the fight shortly afterward.

Residents in Bonsall showed their appreciation by putting up a thank you sign for passing firefighters to see.

A thank you sign to firefighters is in front of Fire Garden Metalworks on North River Road in Bonsall. Howard Lipin/The San Diego Union-Tribune

Elsewhere in California, and even across the country, people took to social media to show love and support for firefighters. That included Ellen DeGeneres, who said her own home is threatened.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s editorial cartoonist Steve Breen drew this image in a show of support for local firefighters.

Here are some more images that show what firefighters have done across Southern California in recent days.

Firefighters move away from a burning house after discovering downed live power lines, as the Thomas wildfire continues to burn in Carpinteria on Dec. 10, 2017. MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

In this early morning Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017 photo released by Santa Barbara County Fire Department, firefighters working on structure protection, keep a close eye on nearby flames atop Shepard Mesa Road in Carpinteria. Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP

Exhausted firefighters have their first rest in over 20 hours since starting to fight the Lilac Fire, December 8, 2017, in Bonsall. ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Firefighters battle flames from a Santa Ana wind-driven brush fire called the Thomas Fire in Santa Paula on Dec. 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gene Blevins/File Photo

Firefighters monitor a section of the Thomas Fire along the 101 freeway on Dec. 7, 2017 north of Ventura. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Firefighters jump a fence to try and save a burning home from the Lilac Fire, a fast moving wild fire, came through Bonsall, Dec. 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A firefighter sets a backfire to make progress against the Thomas Fire before the winds return with the daylight near Lake Casitas on Dec. 9, 2017 near Ojai. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images

Firefighter Nicholas Spanheimer attacks a burning tree with an axe to knock the burning part off before hosing it as he and fellow crew members of Cal Fire Engine 2472 do mop up work after the Lilac fire in Bonsall on Friday night. HAYNE PALMOUR IV/SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE

Firefighters work to save a home from an encroaching fire during the Lilac fire in Bonsall on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images

A firefighter douses a smoldering pile of wood chips and mulch, sparked by a wildfire Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in Fallbrook. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Firefighters walk to the fire line at the Lilac fire in Bonsall on Dec. 7, 2017. SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images

Firefighters put out a wildfire burning in an orchard Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017, in Santa Paula. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Firefighter Simon Garcia, of Heartland Fire Dept., gets a hug from a woman who did not give her name after she arrived to find her house was intact in the Rancho Monserate Country Club, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in Fallbrook. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Thank you, firefighters.

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin

ALSO

Editorial: Wildfire is a threat we must all address in San Diego County

San Diego fires nearly contained, but smoke lingers. What you should know