UPDATE: 6:30 P.M. - Fire Now At More than 73,000 Acres; Containment At 10 Percent
Fire officials say the King Fire in El Dorado County has grown to 73,184 acres, with containment at 10 percent. There are 3,842 firefighters on the incident.
There are an estimated 12,000 homes and 9,000 other structures threatened by the fire.
The mandatory closure to all residences south of Hwy 50 between Fresh Pond and Riverton has been changed to a voluntary advisory.
UPDATE: 4:30 P.M. - Suspect Arrested And Charged With Setting The King Fire
El Dorado County residents who were forced from their homes by the threat of the King Fire are reacting to news of an arson arrest. Thirty-seven-year-old Wayne Allen Huntsman has been arrested and charged with intentionally setting the fire.
The fire forced Stacy Catrambone to leave her home. She's staying at the Red Cross Shelter in Camino.
She says she doesn't care what happens to the accused, as long as he is removed from her community, "I'm just beside myself. I can't believe this all happened from one person being pissed off."
Wayne Allen Huntsman is being held in the El Dorado County Jail on $10 million bail.
El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson charged Hunstman with setting a fire that caused an injury to a first-responder.
Pierson says he wants a judge or jury to consider Huntsman's four prior felony convictions when determining a sentence, "If you've been convicted of certain crimes, it affects whether or not you're eligible for probation or it's a mandatory state prison case."
As people who live in the area tried to cope with the idea of a neighbor setting the blaze, firefighters were trying to take advantage of cool weather and higher humidity.
The fire burned about 45,000 acres in a 24-hour period starting yesterday.
Mike Kaslin with the Cal Fire Amador County unit says the front of the fire is now about 14 miles west of Lake Tahoe.
"That area is fairly remote and we are sending resources up there to continue to flank it," says Kaslin. "But, the lion's share of our efforts are still going to be on the south end where the infrastructure -the homes and residences are."
As of this morning, the King Fire had burned more than 70,000 acres northeast of Pollock Pines in Eldorado County. Most of that burned from yesterday to this morning.
Cal Fire says 12,000 homes are threatened, as are several water and power facilities.
"Our understanding is the Placer County Water District, Pacific Gas and Electric and other infrastructure that takes care of the communities west of us -the greater Sacramento area- Roseville, Placer County, etcetera could be effected by shutting down power grids and things, shutting down plants that are gonna be effected by the fire," says Kaslin.
Thirty-seven hundred firefighters from all over the country are on the fire.
Anyone with information about arson is urged to contact the CAL FIRE Arson Hotline at 1-800-468-4408. Callers can remain anonymous.
King Fire Pyrocumulus Sunset Timelapse.mov from Brandon Manning on Vimeo.
6 A.M.
The King Fire burning in El Dorado County has more than doubled in size. The US Forest Service says it grew to nearly 70,994 acres overnight. It is still only 5 percent contained.
There are 3,700 fire fighters working to gain control of the fire -- up from 2,500 yesterday.
The fire is burning in heavy timber and steep terrain, and about 2,100 people are under some kind of evacuation order.
California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency, freeing up funds to fight wildfires in the state.
The U.S. Forest service said that it shut down McKinney Rubicon Trail and is advising against travel into the Desolation or Granite Chief wildernesses.
Map Courtesy of YubaNet.com
Clayton Cook lives in the area. He decided to leave his home in order to be safe:
"When we found out we were on voluntary evacuation we went around the house and got things like photoraphs and quilts and things that the insurance couldn't replace, so those are the things that we took with us," he said.
Crews shut down Highway 50 last night from Ice House to Sly Park and was still closed as of 7:00 a.m.
Evacuations:
Current Evacuation Total List (as of 09/18/14 @ 1300 hours)
This is an update from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office regarding the evacuation status of the following areas. We want to remind everyone that this event is ever changing and the evacuations will change based on fire behavior.
Forebay, east Bullion Bend area
Mandatory Evacuation as of 09/17/2014 @ 1100 hrs
Bullion Bend, Forebay Road (north of Moon Lane), Homestead, Randolph Canyon Road
White Meadows
Mandatory Evacuation
Brockliss Canyon Road, Elk Ranch Road, Peavine Ridge Road (1 mile north of White Meadows), Spring Valley Road, White Meadows Road
Mosquito, Swansboro Area
Mandatory Evacuation as of 09/16/2014 @ 0900 hrs
Mosquito Road – north of the American River, Rock Creek Road – east of Rock Creek, Mosquito Cutoff Road, Adams Lane, Amber Way, Buckboard Road, Buckeye Court, Cable View Court, Cedar Court, Claim Court, Claim Lane, Claim Street, Claim Terrace, Corder Court, Darr Court, Deer Canyon Court, Deer Park Drive, Dickinson Road, Dogwood Lane, Dyer Court, Dyer Way, Gold Court, Gold Trail, Gold Rock Road, Gravel Court, Gravel Road, Highgrade Street, Holiday Lane, Immerville Drive, Indian Way, Junco Court, La Paz Road, Lawyer Drive, Log Cabin Court, Log Cabin Lane, Long Gulch Court, Lupine Court, Lupine Lane, Maidu Drive, McGuire Court, Morton Court, Normas Road, Orval Beckett Court, Pawdick Court, Peycos Drive, Pine Cone Court, Pine Needle Lane, Poke Court, Ponderosa Grove Drive, Rex Court, Riffle Court,Running Quail Court, Shale Drive, Shilo Drive, Slab Creek Court, Sluice Street, Stope Court, Stope Drive, Story Lane, Swansboro Road, Trail Gulch Road, Triple R Road, Tumeli Lane, Webb Fork Road, Wildflower Court, White Oak Drive, Yankee John Court, 1 Eye Creek Court, 1 Eye Creek Road
Volcanoville, Quintette, Blodgette, Upper Ice House
Mandatory Evacuation: as of 09/1714 @ 1500hrs
Bear Foot Road, Bear State Road, Bird Nest Lane, Blodgett Forest Road, Bojac Court, Bootjack Mine Road, Bottle Hill (east end one mile north of Wentworth Springs), Carey Ave, Cassill Mine Road, Cecil Lane, Cedar Cable Road, Chiquita Bypass, Christmas Tree Lane, Country Road, Coyote Court, Ditch Camp Road, Dry Lakes Trail, Dusty Camp Road, East Carey Avenue, El Bosque, Garden Tower Lane, Harmony Lane, Haven Ridge Road, Helix Flat Avenue, Hobby Horse Lane, Homewood Drive, Horse Power Drive, Kentucky Flat Road, Lake Avenue, Little Silver Road, Lodgepole Lane, Lofty Peak Lane, Logging Road, Loop Cutoff Road, Loop Road, Merkel Drive, Middle Loop Road, Midway Loop Road, Mount Cedar Road, Narrow Way, Onion Valley Road, Oso Mesa Court, Otter Creek Road, Our Place Road, Patchwork Lane, Paymaster Mine Road, Peavine Point Road, Piolet Creek Road, Plum Creek Road, Point Lane, Quintette Court, Ringtail Place, Ringtail Road, Robs Cabin Trail, Rock Creek Road (one mile south from Wentworth Springs), Rubicon Road, Sand Mountain Boulevard, Shotgun Lane, Sleigh Bell, Snowy Way, South Creek Road, South Fork Trail, Spring Tunnel Mine Road, Star Lane Thumper Lane, Stickerbrush Trail, Sunset Peak Lane, Tall Timber Road, Tipton Hill Court, Tipton Hill Road, Tinsel Trail, Tricometric Trail, Trinity Trail, Tunnel Hill Loop Road, Tunnel Hill Loop, Tunnel HIll Road, Un Road, Volcanoville Road, Wentworth Springs Road (east of Balderston Road), West Carey Court, White Fir Road, Wild Horse Trail, Winter Springs, Wolfridge Road, Woodpecker Road, Yuletide Way, 11 Pines Road, 12 Mile Court, 12 Mile Road
Crystal Basin, Icehouse, Upper Wentworth Springs Area
Mandatory Evacuation:
Big Hill Lookout Road, Big Hill Road, Blodgett Forest Road, Bridle Path Way, Forest Road, Frontier Road, Granite Springs, Helix Flat Ave, Ice House Road, Jones Fork Power House Road, Middle Loop Road, Mosquito Road, Onion Valley Road, Outer Limits Lane, Little Silver Road, Loop Road, Peavine Point Road, Peavine Ridge Road, Pickett Pen Road, Piolet Creek Road, Plum Creek Road, Robb’s Peak Road, Rubicon Trail, Sand Mountain Road, Smudea, Spring Road, Sunset Drive, Tricometric Trail, Wentworth Springs (east of Balderston Road), Windmiller Trail, Wrights Lake Road,11 Pines Road
Including all Forest Service roads, trails, and access roads in the Crystal Basin recreation area between Ice House Road and Desolation Wilderness, north of the Highway 50 corrodor.
Fresh Pond, Upper Ridgeway, Park Creek area
Reduced to Voluntary Evacuation Advisement as of 09/17/14 @ 0750 hrs
Bullion Bend Road, Bend Court, Bramble Road, Castlewood Circle, Centerview Court, Centerview Drive, Crystal Summit Road, Darby Lane, Dirt Road Lane, Frontier Road, Hazel Valley Road, Midway Avenue, Mill Run, Old Carson Road, Park Creek Road, Pony Express Trail (east of Sly Park Road), Rampart Court, Ridgecrest Way, Ridgeway Drive, Tall Grass, Stacy Lane, Sunset Drive, Timberwood Way, Twin Mountain Road.
Road Closures:
- Highway 50 closed from Ice House to Sly Park until further notice.
Shelter Location:
- Camino Seventh-day Adventist Church at 3520 Carson Road, Camino, CA 95709
- For communities of Volcanoville, Quintette and Upper Ice House (Voluntary e evacuation): Georgetown Elementary School, 6530 Wentworth Springs Road, Georgetown
Contact Information:
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