Hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain a wildfire that burned dangerously close to homes at the foot of the rugged San Gabriel Mountains early Monday.

The dramatic battle lasting for three days has destroyed 538 acres of forest and has forced at least 1,000 people from homes in and near Santa Anita Canyon in the foothill suburb of Sierra Madre, 15 miles northeast of Los Angeles, to leave their houses.

Firefighters succeeded to gain ground against the blaze with helicopters and tankers dropping tons of water and fire retardant from the sky. Much of the blaze was contained, but the powerful winds threaten to reverse some of those gains.

The blaze was about 23 percent contained Monday morning down from 30 percent Sunday night. No homes have burned, but structures are still threatened. Full containment was not expected for four to seven days.

“Early this morning the flames had raced to within a couple feet of our homes in the canyon and those brave firefighters…formed a perimeter with their bodies and their fire engines. It was a barricade of steel and water and human flesh and blood and they stopped the fire dead in its tracks,” Mayor Kurt Zimmerman said visibly emotional at a news conference as quoted by the Associated Press.

Schools throughout Sierra Madre were closed on Monday and hundreds of the 11,000 residents, who have already evacuated, were warned to seek safe ground.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but, according to Tim Davis, a battalion chief with the U.S. Forest Service, the fire was aided by dry brush and shrubs, which were particularly vulnerable because the area had not experienced a wildfire in more than 30 years.

Four firefighters had minor injuries, authorities said, and a small building was destroyed. Also, 50 guests from a wedding party at the Chantry Flats ranger station were airlifted out Sunday afternoon.

“It was sort of shocking. I didn’t think we were going to be airlifted out,” the bride, Julie Grady said, according to CNN.

Southern California is frequently hit by scorching wildfires due to its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent housing booms in suburban and wooded areas.

Last October, devastating wildfires were among the worst in California history, leaving seven people dead, destroying 2,000 homes, displacing 640,000 people and causing one billion dollars in damage.