California firefighters are continuing to beat back a blaze that more than doubled in size overnight Wednesday - and is threatening about 2,000 homes around the canyons of El Dorado County. The King Fire, burning since Saturday afternoon, exploded from nearly 28,000 acres to more than 70,900 acres - nearly five times the size of the island of Manhattan - according to the latest figures from Cal Fire. The wildfire remains about 5 percent contained. About 2,155 people have been evacuated, and local Highway 50, which runs through Eldorado National Forest, was closed again after reopening earlier Wednesday.
More than 3,000 firefighters are now tackling this blaze in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada - El Dorado County's largest wildfire in 20 years. The crews worked through the night, trying to keep the flames from creeping up the canyon walls. 'It's cooler and the conditions are in our favor, winds are in our favor,' Cal Fire crew member Brian Newman told NBC affiliate KCRA. Aiding in their fight, rain is possible later Thursday morning with calm winds, forecasts say.
IN-DEPTH SOCIAL - Erik Ortiz
First published September 18 2014, 9:19 AM
Entities 0 Name: El Dorado County Count: 2 1 Name: Cal Fire Count: 1 2 Name: Sierra Nevada Count: 1 3 Name: Brian Newman Count: 1 4 Name: Eldorado National Forest Count: 1 5 Name: California Count: 1 6 Name: NBC Count: 1 7 Name: KCRA Count: 1 8 Name: Manhattan Count: 1 9 Name: Highway Count: 1 10 Name: Erik Ortiz Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/XM4T2I Title: California Gov. Brown declares state of emergency as wildfires rage Description: California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for two Northern California counties overwhelmed by wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres and hundreds of homes. The emergency declarations cover El Dorado and Siskiyou counties, which have been ravaged by the King and Boles fires, respectively.
