EL DORADO COUNTY-
People are being asked to leave their homes as a wildfire burns near Pollock Pines.
According to the US Forest Service , the King Fire started burning Saturday afternoon, and has now bursted to 3,000 acres. As of Sunday evening, the fire is 10% contained.
UPDATE: King Fire Triples in Size, 800+ Firefighters Battle Blaze
CAL FIRE is asking people to evacuate their homes as they try to stop the fire from spreading.
Zero homes or buildings have been destroyed by the fire, but 500 are threatened. There are 806 fire personnel at the fire.
The new evacuation center is located at Sierra Ridge Middle School at 2700 Amber Trail in Pollock Pines. The Pollock Pines Community Center was the original evacuation center, but that center had a power outage and the Red Cross decided to change locations.
El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department ordered their Pollock Pines CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) to open up an evacuation center this morning at noon. By 2pm, more than 100 evacuees were at the Pollock Pines Camino Community Center.
While most people were worried about their properties and livelihood, many also expressed their concerns about their pets and livestock.
Martin and Viki Lovell have lived in Pollock Pines for the last three decades.
“We live up here for a reason,” Lovell said. “The forest is beautiful. But it can also be dangerous.”
They experienced that danger first hand.
“We’ve been here for a while, so we know,” Lovell said. “You do the P’s: people, pets, papers, and photos, things that can’t be replaced. Everything else is insured or you can go to Walmart and get a new one.”
This fire is not related to the Dog Bar Fire that forced neighborhoods near Colfax to evacuate Saturday. Two homes were damaged from that fire.
The following streets are being asked to evacuate: Forebay Road, Powerhouse Road, Whiteys Lane, Moon Lane, Catherine Hill Trail, King of the Mountain Road, Flatlander Lane, King of the Mountain Court, Katydid Lane, Kodiac Trail, Sherman Way, Sherman Court, Cayman Court, Terrace Drive, Gail Drive, El Camino Drive, Deep Haven Road, Mountain View Court and Romero Boulevard.
Several local fire agencies have sent teams to assist in the fire fight, and there are reports of the plume being visible from over 50 miles away.
Rina Nakano contributed to this report.
