Northern California's King fire, which started on Sept. 13, has grown to be roughly the size of Atlanta, according to The Weather Channel.
The blaze is estimated to be 18 percent contained. Cooler temperatures and light rain over the weekend helped officials make progress, but an anticipated heat wave has them hoping they can keep up, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
There are currently 5,000 firefighters working around the clock to contain the flames. According to CBS Sacramento, every firefighter is doing 12-hour shifts using carefully mapped out Incident Action Plans. They are committed to keeping the fire from spreading as well as keeping residents safe.
The Weather Channel reported that 87,000 acres have already been burned. While most of this damage has taken place in remote locations like Eldorado National Forest and Tahoe National Forest, 10 houses have been destroyed and 12,000 are considered threatened reported the Chronicle.
While the King fire may seem insurmountable, firefighters and officials remain optimistic. Firefighter spokesman Mike McMillan told CBS Sacramento that they have been successful in pushing flames away from residential areas and further into the wilderness, where they are easier to deal with.
"In this area we feel pretty good about the progress we're making. We've got some water going right to this," he said.