EL DORADO COUNTY, CA - Voluntary evacuations stayed in place for several hours Wednesday afternoon as a 75-acre fire burned in El Dorado County.
The brush fire started around 2:23 p.m. near Salmon Falls Road and Miners Valley Road, just above Folsom Lake, near Pilot Hill.
Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said his agency has battled nearly 4,000 fire so far this year, about 1,200 more than this time last year.
"Because things are so dry, the fires are burning really intensely. We're seeing erratic fire behavior and so the fires are going wherever they want to go and wherever the terrain is going to take them," Berlant said.
Cal Fire had 85 people working the fire and had help from firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service and crews from the Pine Grove Conservation Camp.
El Dorado County sheriff's Sgt. James Byers said voluntary evacuations were in place for Equestrian Way and Hound Hollow Road.
Berlant said it's crucial for homeowers to create at least 100 feet of defensible space around their homes.
But less than a mile from the fire a resident who said this was the fourth fire near his home in recent years acknowledged he had created no defensible space beside his home.
Berlant said there aren't enough fire engines in California to protect every home and that it is up to homeowners to help firefighters, who may otherwise face a painful, but practical choice.
"We're going to pick the home that has the best defensible space and where we can successfully make a stand against a fire," Berlant said.
The fire was contained by Wednesday evening.
News10/KXTV