Record amount of retardant used in California wildfire

Associated Press

PLACERVILLE, Calif.

A massive 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.

But the fire activity is so extreme it’s pushing through their lines.

The King Fire, which authorities said was deliberately set, 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 and some treasured Sierra Nevada recreation areas, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The man suspected of setting the fire, Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, pleaded not guilty to an arson charge Friday in El Dorado County Superior Court. He was being held on $10 million bail.