Sierra blaze that burned 40 homes coming under control after rain

Aided by rainfall, firefighters were taking control of a forest fire that destroyed about 40 homes in the Eastern Sierra near Mammoth Mountain.

Crews had the blaze about 65% contained by Sunday, nearly two days after a blaze whipped by winds tore into the towns of Swall Meadows and Paradise, with about 250 inhabitants. The towns are about 25 miles southeast of the Mammoth Mountain ski resort, near U.S. Highway 395.

The main problem now is more than four dozen downed power lines and damaged trees, making conditions too hazardous to lift mandatory evacuation orders in the area.

“It’s still very dangerous. We can’t let them in,” said Capt. Liz Brown of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Once it ignited, it was fanned by sustained winds of 50 to 75 mph blasting from the winter storm heading from the Pacific Ocean, Brown said. Firefighters had problems fighting the fire as the wind changed direction multiple times.

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