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 continue to battle the 2,700 acre Angora wildfire near Lake Tahoe that has consumed over 200 structures. Image: Getty Images.
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 yesterday evening, it had consumed more than 3,000 acres - about 4.69 square miles - and was about 44 per cent 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.