SWALL MEADOWS, Calif. — Fire crews increased containment of a wind-driven California wildfire that ravaged communities along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, but said Sunday that they still didn’t know when the roughly 250 residents evacuated from Swall Meadows and nearby Paradise would be able to return home.

Utility workers were busy tending to the charred power poles along the roads in the two towns, and forestry crews sawed at fallen trees that blocked a main thoroughfare. Nearby, two gutted, gray trucks rested on a driveway that led to a pile of rubble.

With power poles down and hot spots smoldering near propane tanks, it was unclear when officials would lift evacuation orders. The fire started Friday afternoon near a highway on the border of Inyo and Mono counties. It blew up when 50 to 75 mph winds whipped through wooded areas near the two communities for about three hours, turning the flames into what one person called a “freight train.”

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.

Firefighters made progress after rain moved in, and they have since contained 75 percent of the 11-square-mile blaze.