IDYLLWILD, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California wildfire that forced 6,000 people to flee is now more than 35 square miles in size, and fingers of flame are sweeping along mountain ridges near Palm Springs.
U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Norma Bailey says the fire gained thousands of acres and it's only 15 percent contained Thursday morning.
Crews plan to carve containment lines around the town of Idyllwild, 100 miles southeast of Los Angeles, to keep the fast-moving wildfire from sweeping over it.
The fire in the San Jacinto Mountains has destroyed at least six houses and mobile homes and 16 other buildings. Some 4,100 homes, hotels, condos and cabins in Idyllwild and surrounding communities are threatened.
Nearly 3,000 firefighters and 17 aircraft will be fighting the blaze in 100-degree heat.
