A wildfire in the Sierra Nevada tripled in size overnight Tuesday near residential areas, prompting emergency evacuations and rescues at a time when fire crews are stretched thin.
The Caldor Fire burning in El Dorado County started Saturday but spread quickly to nearly 6,500 acres, bearing down on the Grizzly Flats and Happy Valley subdivisions about halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, Cal Fire said.
The blaze, burning out of control in rugged terrain in El Dorado National Forest, has consumed several structures and prompted evacuations in Grizzly Flats and Happy Valley, Cal Fire said. A battalion chief also indicated firefighters were having water access issues.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and under investigation.
Meanwhile, the Dixie Fire, the state's largest single wildfire in recorded history, continued spreading across four Northern California counties. The blaze, which leveled the town of Greenville last week, was up to 579,000 acres and was 31% contained as of Monday night.
The Dixie Fire has burned across parts of Butte, Lassen, Plumas and Tehama counties.
For information on the dozens of wildfires burning across California, visit Cal Fire's incident site.
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