Meyers, Calif. – Efforts to tame a wildfire that has destroyed about 200 homes near Lake Tahoe suffered a setback Tuesday when a backfire set by firefighters to control the blaze jumped a fireline, forcing a new round of evacuations.
Firefighters were working to protect a development outside South Lake Tahoe when the blaze expanded, prompting the evacuation of a 300-home subdivision. About 2,000 people evacuated, according to South Lake Tahoe police Lt. Martin Hale.
The fire started Sunday near the south end of Lake Tahoe. By Tuesday evening, it had consumed more than 3,000 acres – about 4 2/3 square miles – and was about 44 percent contained, fire officials said.
Officials said the blaze jumped the fireline because firefighters set a backfire as part of their efforts to keep the main blaze from reaching more houses. When the wind picked up, embers crossed the fireline. Previously, firefighters had been able to contain the small spot fires that erupted.
The blaze moved so quickly that two firefighters were forced to deploy the emergency shelters firefighters carry to protect themselves during burnovers as a last resort, said Chuck Dickson, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. They managed to walk away uninjured, he said.
Authorities cautioned that strong winds forecast to arrive today could fan the flames.
Earlier in the day, other families whose homes were in the path of the wildfire returned to their property, finding some houses reduced to charred ruins and others largely unscathed, except for the odor of smoke and a blanket of ash.
“I didn’t save hardly anything in the house,” said retired firefighter John Hartzell, who lost his home of 20 years. Along with his wife, adult son and a daughter, he sorted through the rubble in search of any mementos.
“I got out with the clothes on my back, my fire coat and my helmet,” he said.
Investigators determined that the fire began in an area popular with runners and teens. They also said they were close to identifying its cause. Authorities have said they believe the fire was caused by some kind of human activity, but Forest Service officials said there was no indication it was intentionally set.
