California's huge King Fire now 94 percent contained

SACRAMENTO, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- California's huge King Fire was 94 percent contained Wednesday morning, and efforts are beginning to shift to prevent erosion and flooding, officials said.

The fire has burned more than 97,000 acres or 100 square miles in and around El Dorado National Forest northeast of Sacramento, destroying 12 homes and 68 other buildings. Officials said the blaze, which began Sept. 13, is expected to be fully contained Sunday.

While firefighters continue to combat the blaze in some areas, other units are focusing on protecting natural resources and roads and on tasks like removing the 950 miles of hose.

"Forest roads within the burned area remain closed due to hazardous conditions which are expected to persist for some time. Fire suppression repair crews are removing severely burned trees that could easily fall onto roads," a report on Inciweb said. "Crews are constructing water bars to divert future rainwater runoff and lessen erosion. Vegetation cut during fire suppression is being chipped and scattered on the landscape to prevent a fire hazard and to help absorb rainwater."

Some trails in the area have been reopened.

"Although fire crews have nearly contained the King Fire, it is still active, and there are a lot of firefighting resources still in the area," Laurance Crabtree, the El Dorado Forest supervisor, said in a statement. "I intend to open more of the Forest to the public as soon as it is safe to do so."

A local man, Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, has been charged with setting it. Huntsman recently moved to Pollock Pines from Santa Cruz.

California has had a difficult fire season this year, following a prolonged drought. The King Fire remained modest in size for the first couple of days, but then exploded when the weather turned dry and windy, defying efforts to get it under control.