IDYLLWILD, Calif. — Residents of about 20 homes near the mountain town of Idyllwild were told to flee Monday because of flooding and the risks of mudslides after a major wildfire swept through the area, officials said.
The fire that destroyed seven homes near Idyllwild was smoldering after thunderstorms drenched the timberland Sunday and Monday.
The 27,265-acre fire above Palm Springs was 68 percent contained. It didn’t move overnight and crews were concentrating Monday on surrounding it on ridges thousands of feet up in the San Jacinto Mountains, US Forest Service spokesman Lee Beyer said.
Thousands of evacuees in the path of the fire were allowed back home Sunday as a thunderstorm dumped up to 2 inches of rain on portions of the week-old fire. Officials said the mudslide evacuation was voluntary but was being issued because such events leave little time to flee.
About 1,900 firefighters were assigned, down from about 3,300 at the fire’s height.
More storms were expected in the next couple of days — and that could prove a mixed blessing, Beyer said. ‘‘Light rains are good, heavy rains create mud flows,’’ he said.