--- description: An unwieldy wildfire that officials say was deliberately sparked in Northern California is showing no signs of slowing down. title: Suspected California Arsonist in Court As Major Wildfire Grows image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4d64bc3d759c704/6986a46506f2c116fc330d55/king-fire.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Suspected California Arsonist in Court As Major Wildfire Grows by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 19, 2014 6:16 PM CUT  A firefighter monitors a backfire as he battles the King Fire on September 17, 2014 in Fresh Pond, California. A firefighter monitors a backfire as he battles the King Fire on September 17, 2014 in Fresh Pond, California.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 19, 2014 6:16 PM CUT As an alleged arsonist is set to make his court appearance Friday, the unwieldy wildfire that officials say he deliberately sparked in Northern California is showing no signs of slowing down. The fire in the steep canyons of El Dorado County grew to more than 73,000 acres early Friday — nearly the size of Atlanta — and is only 10 percent contained since it started Saturday, [according to the latest figures](http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4108/ "undefined"). “With the return of higher temperatures and lower humidity (Friday) or Saturday, the active fire behavior is expected to return,” officials warned as the blaze continues to burn… [Read the rest of the story at NBC News.](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspected-california-arsonist-court-major-wildfire-grows-n207096?cid=par-time-article%5F20140919 "undefined") ### See California’s Worst Week of Wildfires  Fire approaches the shore of Bass Lake, Calif. on Sept. 14, 2014. Darvin Atkeson—AP  A firefighter battling the King Fire watches as a backfire burns along Highway 50 in Fresh Pond, California September 16, 2014. Noah Berger—Reuters  A firefighter works the line of a controlled burn to create a safe zone around homes close to the King Fire in the town of Pollock Pines, Calif. on Sept. 17, 2014. Alvin Jornada—EPA  Fire strike crews battle the King fire in El Dorado County near Fresh Pond on Sept. 17, 2014. Randall Benton—Sacramento Bee/ZUMAPRESS  Smoke from a wildfire rises into the sky near Pollack Pines, Calif., Sept. 15, 2014. Rich Pedroncelli—AP  A firefighting helicopter makies a water drop over a wildfire at Bass Lake, Calif. on Sept. 14, 2014. Darvin Atkeson—AP  Eric Collin, left, and Jenny Shakman embrace each other for the first time after their homes were burned to the ground along Black Bart Trail above Redwood Valley Calif. on Sept. 15, 2014. Kent Porter—AP  Firefighters hose down hot spots of the King Fire near Pollack Pines, Calif., on Sept. 15, 2014. Rich Pedroncelli—AP  Collin Herman, of Healdsburg Calif., leaves a fire truck in Redwood Valley, Calif., Sept. 15, 2014. Kent Porter—AP  A helicopter makes a water drop while a second picks up water to fight a wildfire at Bass Lake, Calif. on Sept. 14, 2014. Darvin Atkeson—AP  The Boles fire burns along a ridge in Weed, Calif. on Sept. 15, 2014. Greg Barnette—AP  Firefighters battle the King Fire in Fresh Pond, Calif. on Sept. 17, 2014. Noah Berger—Reuters  A burned utility pole rests on a burned-out car that sits among the remains of a destroyed home on Sept. 16, 2014 in Weed, Calif. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  A firefighter walks through smoke while battling the King Fire near Fresh Pond, California September 17, 2014. Noah Berger—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3404371/california-wildfire-arson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3404371/california-wildfire-arson/"},"headline":"Suspected California Arsonist in Court As Major Wildfire Grows","datePublished":"2014-09-19T18:16:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:43.667Z","description":"An unwieldy wildfire that officials say was deliberately sparked in Northern California is showing no signs of slowing down.","url":"https://time.com/3404371/california-wildfire-arson/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4d64bc3d759c704/6986a46506f2c116fc330d55/king-fire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4d64bc3d759c704/6986a46506f2c116fc330d55/king-fire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The King Fire Continues To Burn East Of Sacramento","caption":"The King Fire Continues To Burn East Of Sacramento","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3404371/california-wildfire-arson/","name":"Suspected California Arsonist in Court As Major Wildfire Grows"}}]}] ```