California’s governor declared countywide states of emergency this week as waves of orange and red flames consumed hundreds of thousands of acres in the Golden State.
Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday declared states of emergency in El Dorado and Siskiyou counties, where the King Fire and another blaze are tearing through wooded areas and threatening thousands of homes, according to CNN. A California man was arrested Thursday and faces felony arson charges relating to the King Fire, an inferno that has injured at least two firefighters and prompted a helicopter rescue of a dozen others, according to The Washington Post and The New York Times.
The King Fire in Eldorado National Forest, near Sacramento, California, further erupted Thursday, nearly quadrupling in size over a 24-hour period to more than 74,000 acres, according to CNN. Nearly 3,000 people were evacuated and more than 12,000 homes are threatened. The fire was only 10 percent contained Friday morning.