Air assault begins

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With less wind and smoke, firefighters were able to use more air support today -- something they could not do Sunday because of heavy smoke. About 700 firefighters have responded from California and Nevada, as well as all over the Western United States, including Oregon and Washington.

‘They’re doing airdrops with water from aircrafts,’ said Sgt. Don Atkinson of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department. ‘It’s such a hot fire, and it was so intense for a while, you really couldn’t get any firefighters in the area. They’re concentrating right now on trying to save homes and keep homes from burning. The fire’s pretty much consuming trees and vegetation in the burnt area. We’re lucky right now in that the winds are not moving, so it’s given the firefighters the chance to see if they can get the upper hand on it. But it not has been brought under control as of yet.’

-- Tami Abdollah