A major timber-fueled wildfire is burning on the California side of South Lake Tahoe. The fire started a little after 2 pm Sunday afternoon.
According to fire officials in Lake Tahoe, the fire is burning approximately 2,500 acres in heavy wooded land near Angora Lake.
One 22-year veteran firefighter say he's never seen "anything like this." Some fire officials have been quoted as calling the fire is "a monster."
Over 220 homes have burned and more than 500 additonal houses are threatened.
North Upper Truckee Blvd. is under evacuation all the way up to Upper Truckee Road near Tahoe Paradise. Structures are either on fire, or threatened and evacuations are underway.
Residents near Saw Mill Pond area and Gardner Mountain have been told to be prepared for evacuation.
Winds are too high at this time for air tankers to attack the flames. Multiple agencies are en-route to the fire at this moment.
Over 1,000 residents have been evacuated.
Evacuations have been ordered for several homes in the area near the Tahoe-Paradise subdivision. South Lake Tahoe High School is also facing a threat as flames near its location. While officials from the United Stated Forest Service have confirmed some structures have been lost, they have not said how many.
Road closures are reported as follows: Eastbound Hwy. 50 is closed at Slide Park; Hwy. 50 westbound at Stateline is closed; In Lake Tahoe, southbound Hwy. 89, north of Emerald Bay is closed, and northbound Hwy. 88/89 at Luther Pass is closed.
Fire crews report having lost 2 vehicles to the flames.
1,400 residents are without power. So far, 450 firefighters are on scene and over 200 people are working at the fire command center.
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