Mt. Democrat King Fire nearly 71,000 acres: Arson arrest made; Swansboro evacuated A man has been arrested for alleged arson of forest land. Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, was arrested Wednesday night on a single charge of arson of forest land. His bail was set for $10 million. No official connection has been made to the King Fire. The King Fire doubled from Wednesday to 70,944 acres Thursday morning and remained at only 5 percent contained, according to an 6:36 a.m. update on Inciweb from the U.S. Forest Service. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and now has 3,695 personnel attending to it. Planned actions for Thursday were to Continue to construct, hold and improve control lines on the south and west portions of the fire. Provide protection for the structures, infrastructure, habitat and other values at risk. Identify and conduct indirect and direct control lines on the north and west portions of the incident as staffing and conditions allow, providing for firefighter and public safety first. Despite the increase in size, no new injuries were reported Thursday morning and no structures were damaged or destroyed. Some 21,000 structures remained threatened, 12,000 being residences. About 2,800 people had been evacuated. Highway 50 was closed again Wednesday night, to be reevaluated Thursday morning. It was still closed as of about 8:30 a.m., according to the official King Fire Facebook page, as back-fire operations were still taking place. Weather contributed to the fires growth, as increased winds reached 10-15 mph Wednesday, with gusts up to 25 mph. The temperatures were in the mid 80s and humidity was in the low 20s, Inciwebs report stated. Tonight the winds are predicted to be 10-12 mph and shifting to the southeast. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid 60s. The inversion is expected to be weaker tonight. The forecast calls for a chance of thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday. Firefighters from agencies all over the state continue to battle the growing blaze throughout the night. The fire behavior became extreme this afternoon with significant runs to the north west, the report stated. Humidity recovery was poor last night throughout the fire area. Therefore the fire remained active throughout the night and today, becoming extreme this afternoon. The Infrared data this morning showed significant movement overnight towards the north in the areas of Brush Creek, Lookout Mountain, and Jaybird Canyon. The Mountain Democrat received word that looting was occurring in Pollock Pines. The El Dorado County Sheriffs Office debunked the claim. Also, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10165, through kitchen manager Dennis Haas, announced its Sept. 21 breakfast at the Veterans Memorial Building will be canceled due to the excessive traffic in support of the King Fire. Pollock Pines Elementary School District reopened for class Sept. 18. The acreage burned by the King Fire climbed to 18,544 acres as of Wednesday morning. It remained at 5 percent containment. Two injuries have been reported, and 2,448 structures (1,632 residences) have been threatened, according to an Inciweb update. The California Highway Patrol Facebook page stated the fire burns up to north side of U.S. 50 east of Sly Park, but it did not cross the highway Tuesday night as was reported earlier. Highway 50 was closed from Sly Park to Fresh Pond as of Tuesday night, but was reopened Wednesday afternoon, with the westbound slow lane still closed for firefighting equipment. Added to the mandatory evacuations, according to Cal Fire were Crystal Basin and Wentworth Springs Road just above Quintette and a mandatory evacuation advisory for Swansboro. The number of fire personnel has been boosted to 2,519, with 245 engines and 62 crews, 11 helicopters, 43 bulldozers and 57 water tenders. A press release from the El Dorado County Sheriffs Office at 11 a.m. updated the King Fire evacuation listings: The Forebay area was listed as partial re-population: Forebay Road (south of Moon Lane), Alpine Villa Lane, Canyon Edge Road, Caprine Hill Trail, Cayman Court, Deep Haven Road, El Camino Drive, Flatlander Lane, Gail Court, Homestead, Katydid Lane, King of the Mountain Court, King of the Mountain Drive, Kodiak Trail, Moon Lane, Mountain Dew, Romer Boulevard, Sherman Court, Sherman Way, Sunshadow Drive, Terrace Drive. West of Forebay, the initially voluntary evacuation had been lifted: Agra Street, Applemont Ranch Road, Apple Creek Court, Axle Street, Balsam Court, Balsam Drive, Baltimore Road, Blair Road, Chickaree Lane, Cinnamon Lane, Delsman Drive, Dogwood Lane, Drop Off Road, Elkhorn Mill Road, Farview Drive, Fir Drive, Hardy Lane, Holderegger Lane, Hub Street, Joni Court, Kimberley Lane, Laurel Court, Laurel Drive, Long Creek Trail, Loyal Lane, Lucky Mine Road, Maple Drive, Maple Street, Marjorie Way, Nature Lane, Natural Way, North Street, Oisin Lane, Old Blair Mill Road, Patrick Lane, Piazza Court, Pine Court, Pine Street, Pinewood Court, Pinewood Lane, Polaris Street, Pony Bob Drive, Primrose Lane, Quick Silver Court, Quick Silver Road, Red Hook Trail, Rim Street, Ritz Road, Sanders Drive, Silver Tip Lane, Spoke Street, Stellar Lane, Wheel Street, Willow Street. Still under mandatory evacuation were: Forebay Road (north of Moon Lane), Homestead and Randolph Canyon Road. As of 1 p.m., the Sheriffs Office announced road closures were at: Wentworth Springs Road for Quintette to Ice House Road, White Meadows at Ice House Road, Rock Creek Road at Highway 193, Mosquito Road at Union Ridge Road, Highway 50 from Sly Park to Union Ridge, Forebay Road at Deep Haven and Blair Road (residents only, manned by EDSO) and Canyon Edge at Randolph Canyon. Contact numbers for more information include: • Air Quality Hotline at 530-621-7507 • Red Cross Shelter at 3520 Carson Road, Camino, 916-204-5268 • Cal Fire Hotline at 530-647-5218 • Animal Control issues at 530-621-5795 • Animal Shelter at 530-621-7631 • El Dorado County Fire Hotline at 530-642-7263. • E-mail information line at kingfireeldoradocounty@gmail. Offers to help The Mountain Democrat has been receiving calls from people in the community reaching out to help those affected by the King Fire. Best Way Movers is offering to help evacuate fire emergency victims at no charge. The company has 16-foot trucks and crews ready to help. Please check to make sure your neighborhood firemen and policemen are allowing commercial vehicles in to help. For more information, contact Ricky Richardson at 530-957-1406.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:21:06 +0000
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