Fire heads into fourth day on Monday as more than 200 people are still under orders to stay away from their homes – cause of fire still not known

Four firefighters were injured battling a wind-driven wildfire that ravaged communities along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and destroyed 40 homes.

The fire headed into a fourth day on Monday as more than 200 people were still under orders to stay away from their homes in Swall Meadows and nearby Paradise. People whose homes were not destroyed could be allowed back in as early as Monday afternoon, said Captain Liz Brown of the California department of forestry and fire protection. The firefighters’ injuries were minor, she said.

The fire started on Friday afternoon near a highway on the border of Inyo and Mono counties. It blew up when 50 to 75mph winds whipped through wooded areas near the two communities for about three hours, Brown said. Firefighters made progress after rain moved and they have contained 85% of the fire, which is expected to be completely out by Tuesday afternoon.

April Miller, who was evacuated but later learned that her house survived, watched the blaze from a nearby crest.

“It was horrifying – this whole wall of red,” said Miller, 72. “My friend had binoculars and she could see the skeletons of houses in the conflagration.”

The relatively affluent community of Swall Meadows, which boasts sweeping views of the snow-covered sierras and is home to retirees and outdoor enthusiasts, was hit hard by the blaze. Thirty-nine homes were destroyed there while one burned in the community of Paradise, Brown said.

Brown also said the rain hasn’t been enough to completely put out the fire. A three-year drought across California has created extremely dry timber brush that fueled the flames and pushed them all the way up the Sierra slopes to the snow line around 8,000 feet, she said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Meanwhile, officials running the evacuation center in Crowley Lake said they received an outpouring of support. Pizzas, fresh fruit and a birthday cake collected on a folding table, while a white board filled up with the names and phone numbers of people who had volunteered their homes for displaced humans and pets.

So many had opened their homes that nobody stayed in the shelter overnight.

“This is one of the most resilient communities you’re ever going to find,” said Mono County administrator Jim Leddy. “They know how to take care of themselves and take care of their neighbors.”