Wildfires raging in Northern California briefly halted the search for extraterrestrial life on Tuesday.
The Eiler Fire, burning some 200 miles north of Sacramento, forced employees at the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array to evacuate and temporarily shut down all of their computers, Internet and power.
At SETI -- which stands for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence -- scientists search the heavens for signs of extraterrestrial life by "listening" with an array of small satellite dishes.
The Eiler Fire may not have cost the researchers their chance to find aliens, but it's already burned more than 31,000 acres and threatened over 700 homes. However, fire officials say the fire is 35% contained and is expected to be fully contained by August 20th.
The search for life can continue at SETI's telescope array. The scientists were eventually given the all clear to return to the facility.
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