California Wildfires: King Fire Balloons to 76,000 Acres

Thousands of firefighters worked to beat back northern California's King Fire, which has pushed more than 2,800 people from their homes, and threatened thousands of residences.

The King Fire is one of at least nine sizeable wildfires CalFire is monitoring, as hot, dry conditions, and the historic drought, make potent conditions for fire starters.

Earlier this week, the Bolles Fire burned about 150 homes and buildings in Weed, California, while the Courtney Fire in Madera County destroyed about 50 more.

(MORE: How to Stay Safe if a Wildfire Threatens)

While the L.A. Times reports sprinkles and lower temperatures worked in crews' favor at the site of the King Fire Friday morning, the forecast isn't as promising for the weekend. According to weather.com meteorologist Chrissy Warrilow, weather conditions in California will become unfavorable over the weekend, as warmer temperatures and drier weather returns to the state through Sunday.

"Unfortunately, much of California is shunted from the Pacific Ocean's moisture, and little to no chance of rain will be in the forecast for much of California until the middle of next week," Warrilow said.

Here's the latest information on the most-impactful fires across the state:

King Fire (El Dorado County, Central California) Update:

Latest Statistics: 76,000 Acres Burned, 12,000 Homes Threatened, 10 Percent Contained

The largest of the three fires, the King Fire exploded in size Thursday, going from some 28,000 acres burned to more than 73,000 in less than one day. While crews felt they slowed down the progress by Friday morning, it had still reached more than 76,000 acres.

The inferno has yet to claim any homes or structures, but is a major threat to as many as 12,000 homes in El Dorado County to the east of Sacramento. As a result, mandatory evacuations were in place for several communities including Swansboro and Crystal Basin, and homes along more than 24 roads in the area. 

News 10 reports that Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, has been charged with deliberately starting the fire.

Boles Fire (Siskiyou County, Northern California) Update:

Latest Statistics: 480 Acres Burned, 150 Structures Damaged or Destroyed, 85 Percent Contained

In the town of Weed, where a blaze began Monday and raged across the community, teams of firefighters went house-to-house Wednesday to pin down damage by a wildfire that officials estimated had destroyed 110 homes and damaged another 90.

The new figures were a marked increase from the initial estimate that a total of 150 structures had been destroyed or damaged in the blaze that rapidly swept across the town. Four firefighters lost their homes.

Two churches, a community center and the library also burned to the ground, while an elementary school and the city's last wood-products mill were damaged by flames that had been pushed by 40-mph winds.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation. Cal Fire officials are offering a $10,000 reward for any information about the origins of the fire, according to NBC Bay Area.

Courtney Fire (Madera County, Central California) Update:

Latest Statistics: 320 Acres Burned, 49 Structures Destroyed, 90 Percent Contained

Crews continued to get a better handle on the Courtney Fire in central California, bringing containment to 90 percent by late Thursday. All evacuation orders were lifted for some 200 homes in Madera County community of Bass Lake Heights that were previously evacuated due to the Courtney fire.

The fire has claimed 61 structures, including 33 homes, near Oakhurst, California, an area already reeling from a wildfire that destroyed eight structures earlier this year.

"I really feel for this community, which has already been through a lot," state fire spokesman Dennis Mathisen told the Associated Press. "This is yet another example of how the damaging effect of this drought has impacted California."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.