California wildfire evacuates 160; Nevada gets smoked
A rapidly spreading wildfire in the forested hills east of Sacramento, Calif., forced 160 residents to evacuate and blanketed Reno, Nev., in a layer of smoky haze Sunday.
The King Fire, in El Dorado County, Calif., was one of several wildfires burning in drought-parched Western states. Winds carried the smoke to more populated areas.
KING FIRE, CALIFORNIA
In California, more than 800 firefighters fought the King Fire, which was most recently located in the canyon of the south fork of the American River. The 3,900-acre fire, which was 10% contained, also caused 406 voluntary evacuations, according to Cal Fire. Some 500 homes were threatened by the fire, which started Saturday afternoon near Pollock Pines, Calif.
The fire created heavy smoke in the Reno-Tahoe area, said the National Weather Service. Light winds with gusts up to 30 mph haven't helped.
"For us, the winds are transporting that smoke to the northeast, and that's why we're getting some haze," National Weather Service Meteorologist Jon Mittelstadt said Sunday afternoon.
36 PIT FIRE, OREGON
About 30 miles southeast of Portland, the 36 Pit Fire forest fire was dropping ash and causing an orange haze in Estacada and Oregon City, Sunday. More than 100 firefighters worked to get the fire under control as it consumed 2,000 acres.
The heavy smoke stretched as far as Salem. The large white plume could even be seen from space, on satellite images.
Detectives told KGW someone practicing target shooting accidentally sparked the forest fire.
Officials issued a High Fire Danger Warning through 5 p.m. Tuesday, due to the heat, strong east winds and extremely dry conditions in area forests.
LEAVENWORTH, WASHINGTON
In Washington, the U.S. Forest Service was trying to find out who ignited a fire near downtown Leavenworth, which quickly consumed more than 20 acres.
It was still burning Sunday evening, very close to homes and businesses.
Fire investigators think it was started Saturday night by a person or a group, up on a hillside about a half mile from downtown.
They say the fire is about 40% contained, and that it's not going anywhere for the time being, thanks to the fact that there's hardly a breeze.
Contributing: Marcella Corona, Reno Gazette-Journal; Ted Land, KING 5 News