Pollock Pines blaze is still 5% contained
POLLOCK PINES, Calif. —Gov. Brown on Wednesday evening declared a state of emergency for Siskiyou and El Dorado counties as fire officials announced the King Fire had grown to 27,930 acres in the Pollock Pines area.
This makes it the largest fire in El Dorado County in the past 20 years. The blaze is bigger than the Cleveland Fire of 1992.
Get live updates from KCRA 3's reporters in the field
The fire ran northwest Wednesday, torching trees and making a push toward Stumpy Meadows.
Residents packed a meeting held by the state's fire department Wednesday evening in Georgetown. It was standing-room only at the Cal Fire-hosted event.
To clarify, the site set up in Georgetown is just that -- an evacuation site. People aren't able to stay the night. However, the building, at 6530 Wentworth Springs Road, is a great place to get information and resources.
An official evacuation center is set up at the Camino Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 3520 Carson Road.
Watch report: How are crews attacking the King Fire?
The Boles Fire in Siskiyou County took out hundreds of homes in Weed on Tuesday. Crews have gotten a much better handle on it over the past 24 hours.
However, the King Fire continues to burn.
A section of Highway 50 previously closed in the Pollock Pines area due to the massive wildfire reopened in both directions earlier Wednesday, the state's transportation department said.
However, one westbound lane of the highway from Sly Park to Fresh Pond will remain closed for continued fire operations, Caltrans said.
Nearly 3,400 fire personnel have been assigned to battle the blaze in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. One crew was spotted driving up Highway 50 on Wednesday from Los Angeles.
The fire has grown by thousands of acres and burned through more than 29 square miles.
On the north side of the fire, the ridge line continues to burn. The fire is not far from a cluster of homes in the Crystal Basin area.
Photos from the fire lines in Pollock Pines
Winds were also picking up, moving the fire east and northeast. More than 2,000 homes remain threatened, according to Cal Fire.
It's 3,512 structures threatened in all. Cal Fire said 2,007 of them are homes.
The King Fire is still just 5 percent contained.
Crews took advantage of the overnight weather to back the fire off the roadway and set the shoulder of the highway on fire to help prevent the blaze from jumping to the other side.
KCRA 3 meteorologists said upslope winds could be a concern for the fire later Wednesday. Firefighters also will deal with winds moving in from the south.
But by Thursday, winds are expected to decrease and humidity levels will also rise. Along with cooler temperatures and cloud cover in the Sierra, there is a good chance for rain in the area where the King Fire is burning, meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn said.
Photos: Must-see photos of Pollock Pines fire | Upload your photos to u local
The El Dorado County Sheriff's Department downgraded mandatory evacuations to voluntary evacuations for the following roads and trails:
--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 (east of Sly Park), Tall Grass, Stacy Lane, Sunset Drive, Timberwood Way, Twin Mountain Road.
Mandatory evacuation orders are still in place Wednesday for the following areas, according to the U.S. Forest Service: Crystal Basin -- Highway 50 east of Fresh Pond to Icehouse, north on Icehouse to Wentworth Springs, west to just above Quintette, to include campgrounds and businesses.
--Granite Springs, Ice House Road (east side), Pickett Pen Road, Rubicon Trail, Windmiller Trail, Wrights Lake 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 corridor. Also, Ice House Reservoir, Loon Lake, Rockbound Lake and Rubicon Reservoir.
--Union Valley Reservoir area, Yellow Jacket Campground, Wolf Creek Campground, Stumpy Meadows Campground, Fashoda Campground, Big Hill Lookout Road, Big Hill Road, Blodgett Forest Road, Bridle Path Way, Forest Road, Frontier Road, Helix Flat Avenue, Icehouse Road (west side), 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, Plum Creek Road, Piolet Creek Road, Robbs Peak Road, Sand Mountain Road, SMUDEA, Spring Road, Sunset Drive, Tricometric Trail, Wentworth Springs (south side, east of Pilot Creek Road), 11 Pines Road.
--The entire community of Swansboro, north of the South Fork of the American River between Brushy Creek and Rock Creek is under an evacuation order.
--So is the east side of Forebay Road from King of the Mountain Road to Pony Express Trail, and all roads north of Pony Express Trail from Forebay Road east through Bullion Bend and White Meadows Road and Spring Valley Road.
--Volcanoville, Quintette, Blodgett, Upper Ice House -- Bear Foot Road, Bear State Road, Blodgett Forest Road, Bojac Court, Bootjack Mine Road, Bottle Hill (the east end, one mile north of Wentworth Springs), Carey Avenue, 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, 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), White Fir Road, Wild Horse Trail, Wolfridge Road, Woodpecker Road, Yuletide Way, 11 Pines Road, 12 Mile Court and 12 Mile Road.
Voluntary evacuation advisories are in place for the following: The east side of Sly Park Road between Highway 50 and Park Creek Road extending east to Fresh Pond and west of Forebay Road from Blair Road to Pony Express Trail; Badger Hill Road, Marmot Road, Lucky Mine Road, Old Blair Mill Road, Apple Creek Court, Applemont Ranch, Chickaree Lane, Longs Creek, Quick Silver Road, Quick Silver Court and Baltimore Road.
So far, no homes have been destroyed by the King Fire.
The blaze started in a remote area Saturday but rapidly grew on Sunday when it reached a canyon full of thick, dry brush.
The Pollock Pines Elementary School District, which was closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, will reopen Thursday.
The two schools in the district were only closed as a precaution -- neither building was burned or damaged in any way. Emergency officials have confirmed it's safe to hold classes Thursday.
School will take place under normal start and end times. Modified bus routes and schedules have been created -- and they're posted on the district's website, officials said.
The public can call 530-642-7263 for the latest information and response on the King Fire.
A cause for the fire is unknown at this point.
The fire got very active Wednesday afternoon, with spotting up to a half mile. The blaze crossed over Brushy Creek and is backing into the wind toward the west. The fire is producing a large column of smoke to the north, but the smoky conditions are preventing officials from directly observing the blaze's behavior.
About 2,800 people are unable to access their homes right now due to the fire.
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