PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — Crews in Pickens County said the Table Rock Complex fire nearly doubled in size Wednesday and is now more than 8,600 acres large. Helicopters were in and out constantly of the Pickens County command post over the past twenty-four hours. Emergency Management explain ed that the aerial view gives crews a better feel for the fire behavior and gives a more accurate point to attack. "One of the things they are hampered by today is the smoke," Billy Gibson, the Emergency Management director for Pickens County, said. "They’re really flying blind as far as where that water is going to land, and they want to make sure that they are as accurate as possible and that they’re not wasting a trip if you will.” Gibson said that even with multiple containment lines in place, the Table Rock State Park fire is still growing. “The biggest thing we want to do is be able to completely extinguish the fire as best we can and the best thing for that is water," Gibson said. "Getting those helicopters, the aircraft and being able to drop it on those lines and especially where the head of the fire is located to try to extinguish it or at the very least try to cool it down so the fire lines will hold once they’re in place.” He told 7News they are also fighting fire with fire in an effort to burn fuel around nearby structures. "The main thing is we want to make sure that life safety issues have been taken into account, that was the evacuations, and then making sure our folks are safe," he said "Then the second being the structural protection. If we can get that fuel burned up around those potential homes, that’ll take that part of the anxiety down some." Gibson said 667 homes in the area had been evacuated. The official evacuation shelter is located at Marietta First Baptist Chruch at 2936 Geer Highway in Marietta. ...read more read less