GEORGETOWN, Calif. - High heat and gusty winds dramatically expanded the King Fire burning east of Sacramento on Wednesday, adding 10,000 acres in less than 12 hours.
The fire's rapid growth forced a new round of mandatory evacuations for people who thought they were far from the blaze, which until Wednesday remained relatively close to the small mountain town of Pollock Pines along U.S. Highway 50. The fire is now 27,930 acres, and just 5% contained. On Monday, it was less than 4,000 acres.
Fire managers were greeted with audible gasps Wednesday when they began explaining how fast the blaze grew northwest toward Georgetown.
'It's been a tough couple of days,' fire manager Mike Webb of Cal Fire told several hundred assembled evacuees. 'We need something to change to our benefit.'
STATE OF EMERGENCY
The King Fire is one of a dozen major wildfires burning in California. Gov. Edmund 'Jerry' Brown Jr. on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for El Dorado County, where the King Fire is burning, along with Siskiyou County near the Oregon border, where the Boles Fire earlier this week destroyed 150 structures.
The frequent fires have prompted air-quality advisories, and forced schools as far away as Nevada to temporarily cancel outdoor sports.
The King Fire alone sent up a towering smoke column and accompanying clouds that were visible in 140 miles away in Palo Alto, near the heart of Silicon Valley, a meteorologist reported via Twitter. Fire managers said they recognized the urgency under which they were operating, given the smoke could also been seen from the state capitol more than 50 miles away.
The fire on Wednesday afternoon raced into an area called Stumpy Meadow, torching trees along a reservoir's edge. The tower of smoke served as an all-too-visible reminder to residents who hurriedly packed up livestock, clothing and power equipment in advance of the blaze. The fire has not yet destroyed any structures, fire officials say.
As of Wednesday evening, about 2,800 people remained under mandatory evacuation, with 2,000 homes threatened. More than 3,300 firefighters worked to contain the fire, also a jump from the prior day.
'Man, it's scary,' said retiree Michael Wilson, who said he sent his wife and mother-in-law to another town for a few days while the King Fire rages. Wilson said he's lived near Georgetown for just over a year, and thought he was picking an idyllic retirement spot. He said he's surrounded his home with defensible space that doesn't burn well, and plans to stay there no matter what sheriffs deputies do to force an evacuation.
'We thought we were in heaven,' he said. 'And it is. Well, until things like this.'
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