Rain Helps Efforts to Control King Fire

Wet weather was helping firefighters gain control of a massive wildfire threatening thousands of homes in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, authorities said Thursday.

The King Fire, burning east of Sacramento, grew slightly overnight to nearly 150 square miles. But containment also increased and now tops 40 percent, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention.

The rain will "will bring up the humidity, bring the flames down a little, and give the firefighters more opportunity to do more direct fire lines,'' CalFire spokesman Jerry Rohnert said.

The rainy weather, which is much needed in drought-stricken California, was expected to continue through Saturday. It should help contain the fire but could also lead to mudslides that could make firefighting more dangerous, Rohnert said.

More than 8,000 firefighters, some coming from as far away as Alaska and Florida, were battling the blaze, which has destroyed 12 homes and threatens another 12,000 near the town of Pollock Pines.

Evacuees from Swansboro, a mountain community of about 400 homes, were allowed to return Wednesday night. Some 2,800 people overall had been evacuated, but it wasn't immediately clear how many remained.

Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, has been charged with starting the King Fire. He has pleaded not guilty to arson and remains in jail on $10 million bail

The King Fire has become the second priciest blaze in California this year, costing more than $50 million to fight since it began nearly two weeks ago. The state spent more than $85 million fighting a fire in Klamath National Forest along the California-Oregon border.

The blaze is one of nearly 5,000 wildfires in California this year, a 26 percent increase compared to an average year of about 3,900.