The Associated Press
TAHOE CITY, Calif. — A house fire sparked a blaze on Lake Tahoe’s west shore, destroying at least two other homes and forcing evacuations, authorities said.
The wind-whipped, 25-acre (10-hectare) blaze began Saturday near the resort community of Sunnyside just south of Tahoe City, Placer County sheriff’s deputies said. No injuries were reported.
The initial house was fully engulfed when crews arrived and the fire spread to nearby structures, causing the evacuation of an unknown number of homes and businesses, deputies said.
In all, five structures have been destroyed, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Barbara Rebiskie said. Firefighters expect to have the fire contained at just 35 acres (14 hectares), she said.
“We have got multiple spot fires and I’m sure it’s caused by winds,” Rebiskie said. “I just think given what we have weatherwise, high temperatures and extremely low humidities, any wildfire in the state of California could potentially be devastating.”
Flames were being fanned by wind gusts up to 30 mph (50 kph), and the National Weather Service was calling for similar gusts through midnight Saturday.
The blaze is about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of South Lake Tahoe, where a wildfire that began June 24 destroyed 254 homes and charred more than 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares). It took firefighters eight days to contain the fire, at a cost of $12.1 million (euro9 million).
Meanwhile, a resort featuring a century-old hunting lodge built by Buffalo Bill Cody just outside Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming reopened as a second day of rain dampened a wildfire smoldering nearby.