Wildfire setback forces more evacuations

Efforts to tame a raging wildfire that has destroyed 200 homes near the Californian resort of Lake Tahoe suffered a setback when a backfire set 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 sub-division.

About 2,000 people were evacuated, according to South Lake Tahoe Police Lt Martin Hale.

“It’s a fairly populated area,” said US Forest Service spokesman Tim Evans. “That certainly is not good news for our firefighting efforts here.”

The fire started on Sunday near the south end of Lake Tahoe. By Tuesday evening, it had consumed more than 3,000 acres – about 4.69 square miles – and was about 44% contained, fire chiefs said.

Officials said the blaze jumped the fireline because firefighters set a backfire as part of their efforts to keep the main inferno 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 US Forest Service spokesman.

They managed to walk away uninjured, he said.

The danger to homes had diminished overnight as firefighters got a badly needed advantage on the inferno.

But it was still burning throughout the day along rugged, uninhabited slopes and authorities had cautioned that strong winds forecast to arrive today could fan the flames.

Earlier, 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 odour of smoke and a blanket of ash.

Investigators determined that the fire began near Seneca Pond, an area popular with runners and teenagers in this resort area along the California-Nevada state line.

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 US Forest Service officials said there was no indication it was intentionally set.

The forest here was so dry that a discarded cigarette butt or match could easily have ignited the fire, Forest Service spokeswoman Beth Brady said.

The area was also dotted with the remnants of illegal campfires, she said.

Experts have said California and the rest of the West are entering what could be a long and dangerous fire season after one of the region’s driest winters on record.

They warn that years of logging, development and forest mismanagement have left the Tahoe area particularly vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.