SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., Sept 1 (Reuters) - South Lake Tahoe stood smoke-filled and largely deserted on Wednesday after crews fought back a huge wildfire, leaving the California resort town unscathed as the flames raged toward Nevada.
The Caldor fire, burning since mid-August in the Sierra Nevada range, still threatened homes and businesses near Lake Tahoe as the blaze crept toward the Nevada state line abetted by gusty winds and bone-dry conditions.
"We steered the fire away" from South Lake Tahoe, Jason Hunter, a spokesman for the Caldor incident command, told Reuters by telephone. The town's 22,000 residents had been ordered to evacuate on Monday.
Hunter said the wind helped push the flames further east rather than directly toward populated areas.
"There was a massive amount of heavy-equipment work and structure-protection work along those neighborhoods," he added.
At the nearby Heavenly Mountain Resort ski area, snow-making machines were used to coat the terrain with water, officials told the San Jose Mercury News.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/evacuees-anxiously-follow-course-california-fire-near-lake-tahoe-2021-09-01/
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