JACKSON, Calif. (AP) -- A wildfire broke out Wednesday in a rugged canyon about 25 miles from this Sierra Nevada foothill town, burning about 200 acres and creating a huge plume of smoke visible for miles.
Joyce Pratt, information officer for the Eldorado National Forest, said the fire started near Salt Springs Reservoir and spread quickly, fanned by winds. Cause of the blaze was unknown.
About 220 firefighters were able to get a line around nearly a third of the fire by late Wednesday. Pratt said several air tankers were scheduled to attack the blaze on Thursday. A staging area was set up on at Lumberyard, on Highway 88 northeast of Jackson.
Smoke from the fire spread eastward into the Sierra and was noticeable as far away as Nevada's Carson Valley, some 60 miles away.
