King Fire Update: A Few Evacuees Allowed to Return to Home, Smoke Blankets Reno

While some evacuees are given the all-clear to return home, the blazing wildfire in El Dorado County, California is influencing another state. The fire's effects have spread 50 miles to Reno, Nev., where the city was blanketed by a cloud of smoke. 

The King Fire, which started burning Sept. 13 east of Sacramento, reached 89,500 acres and 35 percent containment. By Tuesday, as many as 7,400 firefighters from across the nation were on scene. The extra manpower was added in anticipation of unfavorable weather conditions that may hinder progress. 

"A strong low-pressure system off the Pacific Northwest coast will kick up the winds over the King Fire Tuesday and Wednesday, with speeds of 8 to 18 mph and higher gusts," said weather.com meteorologist Nick Wiltgen. "Unfortunately, the air will be even less humid Tuesday than it was Monday, and rain chances don't arrive until Thursday."

(MORE: Impressive September Storm Dives Into the West) 

Even while about some families were allowed to return home, as many as 2,700 people are still not allowed back. Officials say as many as 21,000 structures -- and half of those being homes -- were still under threat of the expanding flames. The fire also continued to threaten a key University of California, Berkeley research station that is home to scores of experiments on trees, plants and other wildlife.

The blaze was spreading smoke beyond California, with the National Weather Service issuing a "dense smoke advisory" in Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe some 100 miles away. Shifting winds later pushed the worst of the smoke back west.

Those winds sent the air quality index into the "very unhealthy" level for general populations in Auburn northeast of Sacramento — where some schools closed, as well as the Roseville and Rockville areas.

A man charged with starting the fire, Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, pleaded not guilty to arson Friday. He remains in the El Dorado County jail on $10 million bail.