PLACERVILLE, Calif. — Thousands of firefighters kept a huge and still-growing wildfire from burning homes in Northern California while a man with a long criminal history faced charges of deliberately starting the blaze that drove some 2,800 people from their homes, authorities said.

The wind-whipped wildfire had burned through 119 square miles of timber and vegetation east of Sacramento as of Friday morning and was just 10 percent contained but had yet to damage or destroy any homes or buildings, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fire grew overnight, but not nearly as substantially as it did on Thursday, when it more than doubled in size. Crews fighting the blaze were expecting lighter winds on Friday.

But those near the fire say it is powerful and dangerous.