Crews gain ground against southern California wildfire

(Reuters) - Authorities in SOUTHERN (SO.NY)California lifted an evacuation order on Sunday evening as firefighters made headway to contain a wildfire that forced hundreds of people to flee their homes as it swept through drought-stricken woods southeast of Los Angeles.

More than 1,000 firefighters backed by nine helicopters worked around the clock to contain the Silverado Fire, which broke out Friday morning in the Cleveland National Forest and spread rapidly on Saturday due to a heat wave in the state.

"Crews have gotten by the steepest, most rugged terrain," said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Jim Wilkins. "We are at 20 percent containment, but that number should start going up rapidly now."

A mandatory evacuation order affecting some 217 homes in and around Silverado Canyon, a gorge in the Santa Ana Mountains, was lifted on Sunday evening, Orange Country Cheriff's Department officials said. Though the area remained closed to non-residents.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries, and the blaze had so far left 1,600 acres (647 hectares) charred as of Sunday, authorities said.

California is in its third year of a devastating drought, leaving bone-dry brush and chaparral that is feeding the wildfire.

"It has been well over 100 degrees here. It's very strenuous work," said Wilkins.

This year's wildfire season, which typically runs from May until October, was on track to be the most destructive on record, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in Seattle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Simon Cameron-Moore)