Tahoe fire razes 5 homes

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Tahoe fire razes 5 homes

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In an unsettling echo of June's Angora fire, a second summer
wildfire broke out in an urbanized area near the shores of Lake Tahoe
on Saturday, destroying five homes and burning 15 acres.

Fire
crews on the ground and in the air fought the blaze throughout the
afternoon and evening and were expecting full containment well before
morning, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Rex Norman said.

No one was reported injured in the fire, which occurred near the resort community of Sunnyside.

The fire broke out at 1:30 p.m. in a wooded subdivision west of the
lake and south of Tahoe City. It started at a home on Washoe Way,
quickly engulfed four more homes and began racing up the mountainside,
fed by gusting winds and dry conditions.

Saturday's fire occurred
about 20 miles north of South Lake Tahoe, where the Angora fire broke
out June 24. That fire, which burned for eight days, destroyed more
than 250 homes and burned 3,100 acres.

The plumes of smoke in
Saturday's fire could be seen for miles. Some residents and businesses
were advised to evacuate, as well as guests at the nearby Granlibakken
Resort.

Grace Randick, 20, who was staying in a vacation home
with friends from the Bay Area, said she noticed a stream of burning
material coming out of a backyard barbecue at the first home that
burned.

"I thought it was somebody barbecuing and they just left it," she said.

Randick
asked a neighbor to call emergency authorities while she ran to the
house, where no one was home. She opened the door, found two Saint
Bernard dogs and rescued them. Soon the home was engulfed in flames,
she said.

"After we got the dogs out, we started spraying the
house," she said. But the sound of pops, cracks and items in flames
prompted Randick and others helping to move away.

The fire
destroyed the home, spread to two more homes on Washoe Way, then
traveled via shrubs and trees up the hillside, where it destroyed two
more homes on Tahoe Woods Boulevard.

The fire moved onto U.S.
Forest Service land, where it burned for several hours. Responding
agencies included the North Tahoe Fire Protection District, the U.S.
Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection. Twenty engines, three helicopters, three air tankers and
other air attack personnel took part in the battle. The air crews
doused the fire with buckets of water lifted from Lake Tahoe and
sprayed flame retardant materials throughout the afternoon.

Late
in the afternoon, the fire moved into a "fuels treatment area," a
region cleared of debris and flammable materials designed to slow down
wildfires, Norman said. Such areas make it easier for firefighters to
fight and contain fires, he said.

The fire caused power outages
in Tahoe City and surrounding areas for much of the afternoon.
Employees at many businesses and restaurants were sent home. Utility
crews had to cut off gas to the neighborhood where the fire broke out
because of concerns about leaks.

By nightfall, winds had calmed
and the fire was running out of energy, Norman said. Flame heights
dropped, and the fire became more of a surface blaze, which
firefighters refer to as "laying down."

Earlier in the afternoon,
Andrew Sapeta and his fiancée, Rachelle Shannon, were leaving a south
shore casino when they spotted the big plume of smoke. They immediately
headed north, concerned about their family cabin, which stood just four
blocks from where the fire broke out.

"We followed the smoke the whole way," Shannon said.

"It was too close for comfort," Sapeta added. "Up in the woods, anything can happen."

It
took the couple about 40 minutes to reach their cabin. They loaded
clothing and family photos into their car in case they needed to
evacuate.

Later, Sapeta and Shannon joined other residents and
vacationers in surveying the damage. Some walked with their dogs;
others rode mountain bikes. They gathered at the destroyed homes, where
flames still flickered in the rubble.

Smoke filled the air. Helicopters continued their dousing efforts. Fire crews remained in the vicinity in case things got worse.

As night fell, many residents felt relieved when they learned the fire was coming under control.