Tuesday, June 26, 2007 

Firefighters work to save homes in the area of Meyers, near South Lake Tahoe, threatened by the 2,000-plus-acre Angora Fire that has destroyed more than 150 homes and 75 commercial structures since it started Sunday afternoon. AP photo/Nevada Appeal, Cathleen Allison

Blaze consumes basin

By: Penne Usher, Journal Staff Writer

Hundreds of firefighters from multiple counties, including Placer, continued to battle a 2,000-plus-acre blaze in the Lake Tahoe Basin Monday.

Officials declared a state of emergency, meaning California would cover all costs associated with fighting the fire, which is under investigation but believed to be human caused.

Auburn-area firefighters, including an engine and crew from the Auburn Fire Department, and CAL FIRE responded Sunday.

"We have sent seven engines and three crews, which consist of one strike team, two crews and a leader," said Gina Chamberlin, spokeswoman for the Auburn CAL FIRE office.

About 1,000 people evacuated their homes in this popular resort area along the California-Nevada border while as many as 500 other houses remained threatened as the blaze burned out of control Monday, authorities said.

"This is a very difficult day for people in Tahoe and for those of us who know and love the place," said Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who signed the emergency declaration because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was traveling in Europe. The governor was receiving regular briefings by phone but had no plans to return early, his office said

Dubbed the Angora fire, the blaze had scorched almost 2,500 acres -- nearly 4 square miles -- and was about 40 percent contained Monday evening, officials said. The U.S. Forest Service expects full containment of the blaze by Sunday, authorities said.

Firefighters launched an aggressive attack, hoping to bring the blaze under control ahead of high winds and low humidity forecast for the middle of the week. Dozens took up defensive positions around South Lake Tahoe High School as flames came within a quarter mile of the 1,500-student school.

Lt. Kevin House, spokesman for the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department, said the blaze is the "biggest disaster" that has happened in the Tahoe area in "forever."

More than 700 firefighters were on hand, but plans to send up 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.

"They were flying over the fire Sunday," Chamberlin said. "This morning they couldn't fly over the fire because it was too smoky."

The National Weather Service issued a dense-smoke advisory warning people from South Lake Tahoe to Carson City, Nev. that heavy ash was making it difficult to see and breathe.

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 entire neighborhoods in Meyers were the smoldering silhouettes of stone and concrete chimneys.

In other areas, the fire seemed to randomly skip some homes, but downed power lines, trees and debris made clear that life would not return to normal anytime soon, even for those whose homes were spared.

Fire restrictions have been in effect in the Tahoe National Forest since June 11. The No. 1 cause of blazes in the area is abandoned campfires, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Firefighters were aided Monday by winds that had slowed to 12 mph after gusting to about 35 mph Sunday. Forecasters warned that if high winds and low humidity returned, the fire could threaten more than 500 homes bordering the lake.

Bruce Kranz, District 5 Placer County Supervisor, whose district is about 80 percent forest, expressed his concern for those displaced by the ranging wildfire.

"My deepest heartfelt sorrow goes out to those who have lost their homes, their memories, and much of their lives to the Angora fire," he said. "My prayers are with not only those who have been affected, but with the firefighters on the front lines, so that they will be protected from harm and quickly gain control of this fire."

He said the fire could just as easily have occurred in Placer County.

"Wildfire pays no notice to a state line or a county line," Kranz said. "We all have been fearful of such an event occurring for years, knowing it was only a matter of time before a catastrophic wildfire rips through the Sierra Nevada."

The Journal's Penne Usher can be reached at penneu@goldcountrymedia.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.,