New Evacuations Ordered In Face Of Raging California Wildfire
(Reuters) - Authorities issued new evacuation orders on Thursday for Northern California mountain communities after an out-of-control wildfire doubled in size overnight, scorching more than 100 square miles of drought-parched timber and brush.
A force of nearly 3,700 firefighters struggled to stop the forward march of the King Fire, the largest and most dangerous of 11 major wildfires raging across California, but had managed to cut containment lines around 5 percent of the flames as of Thursday morning, officials said.
The fire has now burned over 70,000 acres of state land and the El Dorado National Forest northeast of Sacramento, up from 28,000 on Wednesday evening.
No buildings were believed to have been destroyed since the blaze erupted on Saturday but the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said some 2,000 single-family homes and 1,500 other structures were in the path of the flames.
Two injuries had also been reported, although no further details were immediately available. Highway 50 was ordered closed and two evacuation shelters were opened in the area for residents forced to flee their homes.
more...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/18/us-usa-wildfires-idUSKBN0HC21P20140918