Wildfire Scorches Mountains in Monterey County
Nearly 700 firefighters, including some from the East Bay, are in the third day of a battle to contain a blaze burning in the mountains west of the Salinas Valley.
The Coleman Fire, which broke out about 10 miles southwest of King City on Saturday afternoon, has burned about 3,200 acres -- 5 square miles.
Federal and state fire officials say the fire is about 10 percent contained. Conditions are difficult and typical of most summertime wildland fires in California: Crews are contending with a grass- and chaparral-fed fire moving through steep terrain and occasionally driven by high winds.
About 120 structures are reported threatened by the blaze. Among the forces deployed for structure defense were several crews from the Alameda County Fire Department, which were dispatched Saturday night.
In addition to ground crews, fire managers have called in fixed-wing air tankers, including a DC-10 jumbo jet, to try to limit the fire's spread.
The estimated date of full containment: June 18.