PLACERVILLE, Calif. — A Northern California wildfire is burning so explosively because of the prolonged drought that firefighters are finding normal amounts of retardant aren’t stopping the flames. And so they are dropping record-breaking amounts — more than 203,000 gallons in one day alone.
By Friday, state firefighters and the U.S. Forest Service together had bombarded the conflagration with more than a half-million gallons of the red slurry, said Lynne Tolmachoff, a state fire spokeswoman.
The fire activity is so extreme, it’s pushing through their lines.
“They can slow it down a little bit, but they’re not able to hold it long enough to get ground units in there to extinguish it before it burns through and continues its path,” Tolmachoff said.
The King Fire has chewed through nearly 120 square miles of timber and vegetation about 60 miles east of Sacramento. It was 10 percent contained.
The blaze in steep terrain forced the evacuation of 2,800 people and burned multiple structures in the White Meadows area of Pollock Pines.
On Friday, it threatened a key University of California, Berkeley research station that is home to scores of experiments on trees, plants and other wildlife.
The fire also is threatening hydroelectric facilities and power lines that deliver water and electricity to the Sacramento region, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, pleaded not guilty to an arson charge Friday in El Dorado County Superior Court. Authorities said he started the blaze.
