By DPA
Sacramento (US) : A wildfire destroyed over 225 homes and structures near Lake Tahoe, one of the most famous scenic regions of the US, and forced over 1,000 residents to evacuate.
A state of emergency was declared in Lake Tahoe as a wildfire blazed out of control Monday through the area. But lighter winds helped firefighters contain 40 percent of the fire by early Tuesday, authorities said.
More than 750 firefighters were fighting the fire but huge palls of black smoke hung throughout the Lake Tahoe basin and prevented air tankers from dousing the flames for much of the day.
"The circumstances of this wildfire, by reason of their magnitude, are beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any single county," California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi said in a statement.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Europe when the fire broke out.
The fire began in the heavily forested area just south of the lake Sunday afternoon. Fanned by strong winds, it quickly spread through the tinder-dry undergrowth to threaten the many homes dotted throughout the pinewoods in the popular recreation spot.
The flames destroyed 225 homes and structures and had burned over 800 hectares by early Monday morning when firefighters dug firebreaks to stop the spread of the flames.
The fire reinforced fears of a devastating wildfire season this summer in the US west, following a prolonged drought. The blaze, said to be the worst in the area for 50 years, also demonstrated the growing threat of massive damage to property caused by continued construction of homes in wild-lands.
"This is the worst fire I can recall," said South Lake Tahoe Mayor Kathay Lovell. "It just shows you the power of this. It is heartbreaking. It is absolutely heartbreaking. We've got firefighters who are fighting the fire and who have lost their own homes."
The area, which is famous for its ski resorts, is dense with multi-million-dollar vacation homes and lush woodland, which provided nearly limitless fuel for the flames that were unchecked in a region where the spring snow runoff was 40 percent less than usual this season.
The cause of the blaze is believed to have been human activity, but authorities have not said whether it was accidental or arson.
"The wind just pumped up a bunch of ash and sprinkled it through the neighbourhoods and started a bunch of spot fires," one firefighter told CNN. "There just weren't enough people to go around and put them out."
The smoke from the fire could be seen 150 km away in Sacramento, the capital of California, as high winds kept firefighters from deploying helicopters to fight the blaze.