News - Lake Tahoe Wildfire Destroys 50 Homes

Lake Tahoe Wildfire Destroys 50 Homes - News Story - Lake Tahoe:

MEYERS, Calif. -- A wind-whipped 500-acre forest fire at Lake Tahoe destroyed 50 homes on Sunday and threatened 500 others, a top U.S. Forest Service official confirmed. Kit Bailey, the agency's fire chief for Lake Tahoe, said high winds were hampering fire crews in their battle against the fast-moving blaze and were a culprit in the property destruction.

Asked how fast the fire was growing, Bailey replied, "Let's just call it rapid rates of spread."No injuries were reported. The blaze in the upper Angora Creek drainage about five miles south of Lake Tahoe prompted evacuations of the Angora Lakes Resort and hundreds of homes in the North Upper Truckee Road area of Meyers, located next to the resort town of South Lake Tahoe, authorities said.
"I can't stay on the phone. We just got a notice to evacuate," said Gloria Hildinger of the Angora Lakes Resort. "The smoke is getting pretty thick. It's probably two miles away and we're hoping it won't reach here." Flames were being fanned by winds of up to 25 mph, and the National Weather Service was calling for gusts of up to 35 mph on Sunday evening. "They're definitely having problems with the winds up there," said Linda Curran of the Camino Interagency Dispatch Center in California. "The fire has a rapid rate of spread because of the winds."
At least five air tankers and two helicopters were assisting more than 400 firefighters on the ground. The fire, believed to be caused by human activity, was reported at 2:14 p.m. Sunday on Forest Service land. The blaze is under investigation.
Its huge smoke plume can be seen for miles around the Reno-Tahoe area.