Southern California wildfire destroys 3 houses, 3 mobile homes, other buildings

IDYLLWILD, Calif. — A fast-growing wildfire in the mountains west of Palm Springs destroyed three houses and three mobile homes, and was threatening dozens more residences, officials said Tuesday.

The blaze also destroyed more than a dozen small buildings, a cabin, a garage and about a half-dozen vehicles, the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement. One house was damaged but not destroyed.

The wildfire started Monday between Palm Springs and Hemet, near the rural Riverside County community of Mountain Center, and a day later had surged to about 14 square miles.

More than 2,200 firefighters and 25 aircraft had the blaze 10 percent contained.

It was mostly moving east toward the desert and away from small communities of homes, summer cabins and ranches in the San Jacinto mountains, but a change in the wind could easily sweep it back toward homes, authorities said.

"It's a rapidly changing animal," said Forest Service spokesman Lee Beyer.

Most of the damage occurred late Monday and early Tuesday as the fire more than doubled in size, but it was not assessed until later in the day.

Miller said officials were especially surprised that the Zen Mountain Center survived, and credited firefighters.

"We really thought it was gone," Miller told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. "The crews hung on and saved it."

About 50 homes were evacuated along with Camp Ronald McDonald, which hosts programs for children with cancer and their families.

The fire also led authorities to close a pair of state highways and the Pacific Crest Trail.

A public pool about 20 miles away in Indio was closed because of ash falling on the water.

"We only had 40 to 50 percent of normal precipitation" over the winter and no rain at all since early April, he said.