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Hundreds flee from Lake Tahoe wildfire

More homes are threatened as thick smoke cuts airborne efforts.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 26, 2007

MEYERS, Calif. - A wildfire raged out of control near Lake Tahoe on Monday, forcing hundreds of residents to flee flames that destroyed more than 200 buildings, turned the sky orange and fouled the lake's famously clear waters with falling ash.

Many hotels offered free rooms as families clung to one bit of good news: Despite the destruction, there were no reports of injuries.

"All the memories are gone, " said Matt Laster, a legal assistant forced to flee his rented home of five years with his wife, two young children and cat. He showed up at a recreation center looking for clothes and a sleeping bag.

The blaze, which authorities believe was caused by some kind of human activity, had scorched almost 2, 500 acres - nearly 4 square miles - and was about 40 percent contained. Full containment was expected by Sunday, the U.S. Forest Service said.

About 1, 000 people had evacuated from the path of the flames, and authorities feared up to 500 other houses could be threatened in this resort area along the California-Nevada state line.

More than 700 firefighters were on hand, but plans for airborne tankers and helicopters to drop water and retardant over the heavily wooded, parched terrain were scrapped because of low visibility from the thick smoke.

Firefighters hoped to bring the blaze under control ahead of high winds and low humidity forecast for the middle of the week.

"We have a window right now where we're really trying to aggressively attack this fire, " said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in Sacramento.

Along the lake's southern shore, a layer of black, mushy ash lapped along boat docks, raising fears the fire also could have disastrous long-term economic consequences for a community heavily dependent on the lake's recreational tourism.

The fire began Sunday afternoon on a ridge separating the resort community of South Lake Tahoe from Fallen Leaf Lake, a recreation area where a U.S. Forest Service campground was evacuated.

By early afternoon Monday, 173 homes had been lost to flames and many others were damaged, along with dozens of outbuildings, authorities said. All that remained of neighborhoods in Meyers were the smoldering silhouettes of stone and concrete chimneys.

ALASKA FIRE: In Alaska, damp, cooler weather helped slow a wildfire in a popular recreation area on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage that had destroyed about 70 homes and cabins and was threatening hundreds more.

The Kenai blaze, reported on June 19, had spread across nearly 90 square miles and was only about 10 percent contained Monday, fire officials said.

[Last modified June 26, 2007, 00:23:33]