Man accused of deliberately igniting Calif. fire
GEORGETOWN, Calif. — A 37-year-old man has been arrested and accused of deliberately setting the rapidly growing King Fire east of Sacramento that's threatening to destroy thousands of homes.
Wayne Allen Huntsman was arrested Wednesday and faces one felony count of arson with aggravating factors, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. He is in the county's jail in Placerville, Calif., on $10 million bail and will be arraigned Friday.
"We expect that that investigation will be ongoing in the near future," said Vern Pierson, El Dorado County district attorney. At the moment, officials believe that Huntsman, who has prior offenses for assault and grand theft in Santa Cruz County and receiving stolen property in Plumas County, acted alone.
Meanwhile, firefighters had hoped that cooler temperatures and higher humidity that were forecast could help them begin controlling the 111-square-mile wildfire that increased 1.5 times in size from Wednesday to Thursday. Nearly 3,700 personnel are battling the blaze; an official said the firefighting efforts were costing more than $5 million a day.
Firefighters instead predicted even more extreme fire behavior Thursday. The fire surged 10 miles northwest in a few hours Wednesday afternoon, prompting a new round of frantic evacuations, as flaming pine cones and debris being carried on air currents started smaller spot fires as much as 3 miles away from the main body.
"We are seeing some fire behavior in September that we have not seen before, that we have not seen in a long time," Cal Fire Unit Chief Mike Kaslan said.
The fire has been burning in steep canyons since Saturday and exploded in size Wednesday and early Thursday after 90-degree temperatures helped fuel its spread. Firefighters said the fire initially started at the top of a canyon, rolled downhill slowly and then roared back uphill.
On Monday, it had been fewer than 4,000 acres and remained relatively close to the small mountain town of Pollock Pines, Calif., along U.S. 50.
About 2,800 people have been forced to evacuate their homes even though the fire has not yet destroyed a single structure, firefighters say.
The fire, now more than half the size of Lake Tahoe about 40 miles to the northeast, is burning in canyon country, where thousands of people live spread out across the rough terrain among pine trees. Because leaving the area along twisty, steep roads takes far longer than the distances would suggest, firefighters are erring on the side of caution in removing residents from the fast-growing fire's path.
The fire is threatening 12,000 homes. It was just 5% contained Thursday, sending up a column of smoke visible more than 100 miles away as the setting sun Wednesday turned it a golden red.
Firefighters working the blaze have been using bulldozers and hand tools to cut away underbrush and chop fire lines through vegetation. Those steps make it harder for the fire to spread quickly, as have continuous drops of flame retardant and water from helicopters and large airplane tankers.
"To date, we've flown 455,000 gallons of retardant to the King Fire," Nick Pimlott of Cal Fire said Wednesday.
The fire Wednesday made its run to the northwest into an area known as Stumpy Meadows, alarming residents who have been watching the fire spread closer to their homes and 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.
Retiree Michael Wilson said he and his wife moved to the Georgetown area last year expecting a life of peace, quiet and natural beauty. Wilson plans to stay in spite of of any evacuation orders, counting on cleared space around his home and access to a pond from which firefighters can dip water.
Looking out at smoke moving closer to his house, Wilson said he made the right decision in moving to the mountains and credited firefighters with protecting homes so successfully. Despite the fire's growth near populated areas, not a single house has been reported lost.
"That's a miracle," he said.
The King Fire is one of a ten major wildfires burning in California. Gov. Edmund "Jerry" Brown Jr. declared a state of emergency Wednesday 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 about 200 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 column of smoke and accompanying clouds that were visible in 140 miles away in Palo Alto, near the heart of Silicon Valley, a meteorologist reported via Twitter.
Farther north in the town of Weed, Calif., where the Boles Fire began Monday, teams of firefighters were going house to house to pin down damage in the wildfire about half a square mile in area that officials estimated had destroyed 110 homes and damaged another 90.
The new figures were a marked increase from the initial estimate that a total of 150 structures had been destroyed or damaged in the blaze that rapidly swept across the town. Four firefighters lost their homes.
Two churches, a community center and the library also burned to the ground while an elementary school and the city's only remaining wood-products mill were damaged in flames that had been pushed by 40-mph winds.
Insurance companies worked to find places to live for the people who lost their homes.
The cause of that fire remains under investigation. It was 65% contained Thursday.
Burned neighborhoods remained off limits, but people have been finding ways in.
The Rev. Bill Hofer, pastor of Weed Berean Church, said power was back on in his home, which was still standing on the edge of the devastation zone. He returned Wednesday night despite the evacuation order to deter vandalism.
"The more people home with the lights on, the better," he said.
About 200 miles to the southeast in Georgetown, Wilson said he sent his wife and mother-in-law to another town for a few days while the King Fire rages.
"Man, it's scary," he said. "We thought we were in heaven. And it is, well, until things like this."
George Warren also reports for KXTV-TV, Sacramento, Calif. Contributing: Ian Hill and Suzanne Phan, KXTV-TV, Sacramento, Calif.; The Associated Press
