As of Wednesday morning, the Caldor Fire grew to more than 50,000 acres, practically doubling in size in the last 24 hours.
The fire has raged through one small Northern California town already, becoming the state's second-largest active wildfire in the process.
The fire, burning in El Dorado County south of Pollock Pines, leveled multiple homes in Grizzly Flats, a community of about 1,000 people. It's undetermined how many structures have been destroyed, but nearly 6,000 are threatened, according to CAL FIRE.
The Caldor Fire is 0% contained, and Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in El Dorado County.
Several areas have been issued evacuation orders, including Grizzly Flat and portions of Highway 50. The fire is expected to continue to grow.
"There's a lot of challenges on this particular fire, including the terrain, the remote areas and some of the access issues," Battalion Chief Chris Vestal, the fire's public information officer, said Tuesday in an interview with KCBS Radio.
Two people were seriously injured in the Caldor Fire, according to CAL FIRE officials. Vestal said that's why it’s always important to evacuate when asked.
The Caldor Fire is already California's second-largest active wildfire behind the Dixie Fire, which has burned over 600,000 acres and prompted evacuation warnings and orders in four Northern California counties. The Dixie Fire is 31% contained, and crews aren’t sure when they can expect it to be fully contained.
No other individual wildfires in the state have burned more acres than the Dixie and Caldor fires this year.
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