Many Southern Californians experienced rain this weekend amid worsening drought conditions and weeks of wildfires igniting across the region.

The National Weather Service Los Angeles and San Diego offices have issued preliminary rainfall totals for the past two days through 4 a.m. and 5:03 a.m. Monday respectively. The accuracy of the data hasn’t been verified, according to the NWS San Diego.

Areas of Los Angeles County mountains, including Mt. Baldy and parts of the Santa Monica Mountains, welcomed more than an inch of precipitation total this weekend, as did parts of Santa Barbara County and regions of Southern California more east and south.

See just some of the areas in Southern California that experienced more than a total inch of rain in the past two days as of early Monday morning:

Los Angeles County

Santa Barbara County

San Diego County

San Bernardino County

Riverside County

Santa Ana Mountains

Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com.

A shelter at Cuyamaca College and run by the American Red Cross was set up on Friday for evacuees of the Thousand Trails Pio Pico RV Park on Otay Lakes Road in Jamul, who had to leave their homes suddenly when the Border 2 Fire exploded overnight.

On a rainy Sunday morning, residents were still waiting for word they could go home. By Sunday, officials had canceled all evacuation warnings and most of the evacuation orders.

"We got a wake-up call at 4 in the morning saying you've got to go now," said Kevin Quinn, who was living at the RV park when officials knocked on his door, telling him to leave.

"We just grabbed what we could," Quinn said. "I grabbed as much as I could that I thought was valuable, and I had to go, just in my car."

Quinn is one of about 30 evacuees staying at the gymnasium at Cuyamaca College, according to the American Red Cross, which was deployed to the campus to help provide food, water, showers and shelter for evacuees.

"Just living here long enough to see these disasters continuing to happen, I just wanted to be ready," said Aimee Cochran, a Red Cross volunteer who had just arrived at the shelter Sunday morning.

Across from the gym, a parking lot is filled with RVs and their owners, all of whom evacuated Thousand Trails.

"I was thinking: 'It's a warning. Maybe it won't happen,' " said Gigi Severson, who got the alert to evacuate on her phone in the middle of the night.

Severson and her husband have been receiving updates from the RV park's management and Cal Fire officials every day since the fire broke out.

In a statement to NBC 7, the RV park management said that no damage to the property was reported. As of Sunday evening, portions of Otay Lakes Road remain closed and the area remains under mandatory evacuation.

While the evacuees are all neighbors, Severson said that in the time they've spent together at Cuyamaca College, there's been an ethereal sense of community that's come of all this.

"Everybody's helping each other," Severson said. "I mean, that's just the way it is when you're in this community."

The American Red Cross said the shelter will remain open until residents are able to return home.

SAN DIEGO, CA — Rain helped firefighters continue to increase containment on a wildfire that burned thousands of acres and forced evacuation orders and warnings north of the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego County.

The blaze, called the Border 2 Fire, sparked around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in a remote area near Otay Mountain Truck Trail, west of Doghouse Junction in the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area, according to Cal Fire San Diego. As of 5:46 a.m. Monday, the fire remained at 6,625 acres and was 43% contained.

"Significant rain showers throughout the day led to a reduction of fire activity. With nearly a half inch of rain falling over the area, fire activity is now not expected to spread," Cal Fire said in a Friday morning update. "Fire crews continue to work in steep and remote terrain requiring containment lines to be constructed by hand crews. Crews are also patrolling existing containment lines and suppressing any hot spots."

The fire sparked amid gusty Santa Ana conditions and moved with a "dangerous" rate of spread. Crews fought the flames on the ground and aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters. A total of 2,540 firefighting personnel were assigned to the blaze Monday morning, including 151 engines, 87 crews, 18 dozers, eight water tenders and four helicopters, according to Cal Fire.

All evacuation warnings were lifted on Sunday due to improved containment. Evacuation orders were reduced Monday morning. See the latest maps here and here.

Find out what's happening in San Diegofor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The overnight shelter at the Cuyamaca College gym was closed Monday. Anyone in need of assistance was advised to contact the American Red Cross Southern California Region at 1-800-RED-CROSS (733-2767).

Otay Lakes Road at Wueste Road, as well as Otay Lakes Road just west of Pio Pico RV Park, remained closed except for law enforcement, firefighters and utility company vehicles, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.

"Please drive carefully, as firefighters will continue to work in the area to mitigate the hazards and strengthen control lines," the sheriff's office said. "Dust and noise will be present throughout the day and night. Smoke may be seen from areas where the fire is still burning, but there is no threat to the public."

The cause of the fire remained under investigation.

High winds and overcast skies couldn’t shake spirits Saturday at the San Diego Lunar New Year celebration in City Heights.

Now in its 15th year, the festival started with the neighborhood’s Vietnamese population but has spread to include much of the wider San Diego community. The Lunar New Year, sometimes called the Chinese New Year, will be celebrated by billions of people this Wednesday.

The Asian fusion was evident in the walkway into the festival at the Officer Jeremy Henwood Park: Recent Korean pop music hit “APT” by Rosé and Bruno Mars blasted over speakers, fake Japanese cherry blossom trees lined the road, pink and white Chinese lanterns swung in the wind and an old Vietnamese taxi and three-wheeled Lambro 550 were parked at the entrance.

Tram Lam, managing officer with the Little Saigon Foundation of San Diego, said it was important to organizers to reach out and include all walks of life despite the substantial Vietnamese population in City Heights.

“We want to create belonging,” she said. “Discrimination and hate comes from not understanding people.”

Even the power of the upcoming Year of the Snake couldn’t stop 15 mph winds, which sent many decorations flying and took a group effort to keep many tents from reaching for the heavens. Lam said the free festival usually draws about 20,000 people over its three days but anticipated it would be fewer this year on account of the weather.

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Brendy Tam and Sean Larson said they came to event to expose their sons to their cultural heritage. Their children Finn, 3, and Keanu, 5, were wearing Chinese outfits and posing for pictures holding a Chinese umbrella in an area with props for photos.

“I want them to see where they come from,” said Tam, who is of Chinese origin, “and the reason behind the celebration, and the food we eat.”

One of the benefits of the wind was the smell of chow mein and various Thai street foods filling the park. There were more than a dozen food vendors serving a smorgasbord of Asian cuisine, including steamed pork buns, kimchi, grilled prawns, sugar cane juice, fried calamari, ube powdered donuts and pad Thai.

There was plenty of entertainment with lion and dragon dances, food eating contests, a dumpling wrapping contest and a host of performances on a main stage. One of the groups was Jam Diego, a fitness initiative that formed in 2014 and performs dance routines at street fairs, nursing homes and many local events.

Members of Jam Diego, along with other dance groups, performed the choreography from the “Bang Bang Bang” music video from K-Pop boy band BigBang. Jam Diego founder Nancy Yang said she often looks for trending dances for her classes. BigBang is disbanded but has seen a stateside surge in popularity after one of its members, T.O.P., was a breakout star in the new season of Netflix’s “Squid Game.”

“I love it,” Yang said about performing onstage, “because you can see the audience dancing and smiling with you.”

The San Diego Lunar New Year Festival continues Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. A schedule of events is available on its website.

SAN DIEGO, CA — Crews worked overnight to contain a wildfire that has burned thousands of acres and forced expanded evacuation orders and warnings north of the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego County.

The blaze, called the Border 2 Fire, sparked around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in a remote area near Otay Mountain Truck Trail, west of Doghouse Junction in the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area, according to Cal Fire San Diego. As of Saturday at 9 p.m., the fire had scorched 6,625 acres and remained 10 percent contained.

"Fire activity continued overnight, burning in steep terrain with very low humidity and shifting winds," Cal Fire said in a Saturday morning update. "The fire continues to threaten homes, communities, and infrastructure, but air and ground resources are working day and night to ensure the safety of residents and property. Rain is expected over the fire area late tonight through Monday, lessening fire activity and helping firefighters increase containment."

The fire sparked amid gusty Santa Ana conditions and moved with a "dangerous" rate of spread. The blaze blackened 20 acres within minutes of erupting. By 8:46 p.m. Thursday, the fire had scorched 600 acres.

"There is a potential of 200 acres and additional resources have been ordered," Cal Fire said on social media shortly after the fire broke out.

Crews fought the flames on the ground and aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters. A total of 1,177 firefighting personnel were assigned to the blaze Saturday morning, including 90 engines, 35 crews, 12 dozers, 12 helicopters and 12 water tenders, according to Cal Fire.

"Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the state are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow," Cal Fire said.

In an update Saturday afternoon, State Deputy Fire Marshal Brice Bennett said shifting winds have been pushing the fire uphill, and that vegetation is "very receptive to ignition." Cal Fire aircraft worked night and day to drop both 46,000 gallons of water and 21,000 gallons of fire retardant on the area, he said.

Authorities issued evacuation orders and warnings, which were expanded throughout Friday.

Evacuation orders were issued for the following zones: SDC-2389-A, SDC-2390, SDC-2464, SDC-2465, SDC-2466, SDC-2543, SDC-2544, SDC-2545. Evacuation warnings were issued for the following zones: SDC-2306, SDC-2307, SDC-2389-B, SDC-2391, SDC-2393, SDC-2461, SDC-2462, SDC-2463, SDC-2467, SDC-2541, SDC-2542, SDC-2546, SDC-2605.

View an interactive map here and here.

The temporary evacuation points at Regal Edwards Rancho San Diego and Southwestern College closed Friday evening.

An overnight evacuation shelter opened Friday at Cuyamaca College Gymnasium at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in El Cajon. Anyone affected by the fire can stop by to access services, whether or not they are staying overnight, according to the Red Cross.

Small animals can be taken to Cuyamaca College at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in El Cajon. Large animals can be taken to 5821 Sweet Water Road in Bonita.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Office temporarily suspended all visits to county jails in the Otay Mesa area. The following sheriff's facilities were affected: George Bailey Detention Facility, Rock Mountain Detention Facility and East Mesa Reentry Facility.

"The current status of our Otay Mesa detention facilities is to shelter in place. There is an evacuation plan in place if this becomes necessary," the sheriff's office said. "The safety and well-being of those in our custody, as well as jail staff, are a top priority. If you have a loved one in our custody, be assured there is currently no danger to these facilities related to the Border 2 Fire."

Otay Lakes Road was closed from Wueste to state Route 94. SR-94 was closed from Honey Springs to Highway 188.

The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District issued a smoke advisory for southwestern, central and eastern San Diego County. Affected communities include El Cajon, Alpine, Pine Valley, Jamul and surrounding areas.

"As expected, winds shifted this afternoon, carrying smoke toward the north and east," the district said Friday. "While smoke production has decreased slightly due to ongoing firefighting efforts, smoke is projected to continue affecting communities such El Cajon, Alpine and Pine Valley throughout the evening. A forecasted wind shift overnight will redirect smoke toward the north and northwest, with this pattern persisting into early Saturday morning, carrying smoke toward the north and west."

The fire broke out amid critical fire weather conditions in the region. A red flag warning expired Friday for the county's inland valleys and mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

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