Firefighters were on Monday battling to contain a forest fire near California’s Lake Tahoe that destroyed as many as 220 homes and forced the evacuation of 1 000 people, officials said.
The blaze, which officials said was probably caused by humans, erupted on Sunday near the southern tip of Lake Tahoe, 304km north-east of San Francisco, United States Forest Service spokesperson Rex Norman said.
By early on Monday the blaze had scorched about 950ha but favourable weather conditions had left firefighters cautiously optimistic of making in-roads into the blaze, Norman said.
”There is almost no wind and the humidity has dropped right off, which has allowed fire crews to advance to the front edge of the fire and to start establishing containment lines,” Norman told Agence France-Presse.
”We feel a lot more positive about it than we did yesterday [Sunday],” he added, describing the fire as ”roughly 20% contained.”
Between 185 and 220 homes had been destroyed Norman said, while about 1 000 people remained evacuated. Homes destroyed were mostly in residential areas, Norman added.
No injuries have been reported in the fire so far. Although it was too early to establish the precise cause of the inferno, Norman said the blaze was likely started by human activity.
”It’s too early to give a definite answer. The cause is almost certainly human activity but the source is not yet known,” he said.
US fire and forestry officials have been bracing for a severe fire season across California this year after a dry winter marked by record low rainfalls.
Meanwhile, firefighters in Alaska were attempting to rein in a massive blaze that had swept through 52 000 acres and claimed about 70 structures, including holiday homes and lodges, in the remote Caribou Hills, state officials said. — AFP
