Tahoe awakes to smoke-free skies

AP on Yahoo ^ | 6/29/07 | Scott Lindlaw - ap

[NormsRevenge]

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Residents awoke to smoke-free sky Friday as officials announced they had turned the corner in fighting a wildfire that destroyed 254 buildings and threatened thousands more in this resort community.

After a second straight day of mild winds allowed firefighters to surround the blaze, U.S. Forest Service commanders said they planned to reduce their force by one-fourth and allow residents to inspect the wreckage for the first time.

"Firefighters came in this morning and felt even more comfortable about the approaching containment of this fire," incident commander Rich Hawkins said. "I'm feeling pretty good about it."

Hawkins also said he believed authorities had pinpointed the cause of the blaze as accidental but would not announce it until later Friday.

A total of 3,500 people have been evacuated since the fire broke out Sunday, but with the blaze 70 percent contained and the outlook for full containment promising, authorities lifted evacuation orders in some neighborhoods and downgraded mandatory orders to voluntary in others.

The amount of land burned held steady at 3,100 acres, or 4.7 square miles, as of Friday, Hawkins said. With new fires breaking out in other parts of the country, 500 of the more than 2,100 Forest Service personnel working in the Lake Tahoe Basin would be deployed elsewhere, he said.

Anxious residents welcomed the decision to let homeowners back into the burned-out streets about seven miles from the lake where all the destroyed homes are located, even if the visits would be under police escort and limited to an hour.

"We haven't been able to have closure," said Che DeVol, who was told his home was totally destroyed. He and his father visited a victim-assistance center set up by various agencies at Tahoe Community College but he had yet to return to a family home of 22 years.

"To stand there and at least rake through our stuff, that's the hardest part," he said Thursday. "They won't let us out there."

A few people were so determined to sift through the ashes that they defied the evacuation orders and returned repeatedly on bicycles earlier Thursday. They were arrested for trespassing, El Dorado Sheriff's Deputy Phil Chovanec said.

"They're all obviously emotional," he said. "It's a very tight community."

Fire officials attributed their rising confidence to a break in the weather that kept winds low Thursday. The wind that did blow had delivered higher humidity, a welcome condition, meteorologist Jim Wallman said.

"We're calling it the swath of luck," Wallman said, pointing out a dark streak on a satellite map that represented high pressure.

Officials cautioned it still was too early to declare victory, with forecasters saying winds could pick up again Friday and hotspots still smoldering in some areas.

"Don't be complacent. There are still hazards out there," Kit Bailey, a U.S. Forest Service chief, told hundreds of firefighters Friday morning. "It's going to be a long, brutal summer."

___

Associated Press writers Amanda Fehd, Aaron C. Davis and Joe Mullin contributed to this report.

[NormsRevenge]

This image provided by NASA taken by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA?s Terra satellite captured this image Wednesday June 27, 2007 of the burn scar left by the Angora fire in South Lake Tahoe, center. The burn scar is dark gray, the water bodies are the southern tip of Lake Tahoe, top, and Fallen Leaf Lake, left of the burn scar. A break in the weather helped firefighters gain ground on a stubborn wildfire near Lake Tahoe early Thursday, but officials cautioned that the reprieve may be short-lived because of blustery conditions in the forecast. The fire has burned 3,100 acres, or about 4.7 square miles, and the fire was 55 percent contained on Thursday, Hawkins said. (AP Photo/NASA)

[NormsRevenge]

The cup says..

A Mother's Love can never be replaced.

A coffee cup is one of the few family mementos to survive a wildfire that destroyed Edward Schlinger's home in Meyers, California June 28, 2007. The four-day-old Angora Fire has consumed 3,100 acres (1,250 hectares) of bone-dry forest and destroyed 251 structures, including 176 homes, south of Lake Tahoe, one of the state's most scenic attractions and a popular recreation area. REUTERS/Max Whittaker (UNITED STATES)

---

Just don't tick Mother Nature off.

Best wishes to all those who lost so much this week.

[calcowgirl]

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

No State Funds For Owners To Clear Lots
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/248139.html

It can cost at least $5,000 to thin trees and brush from a small residential lot at Lake Tahoe. Early evidence from the Angora fire, which has claimed 254 homes, shows that carving out defensive perimeters can help limit damage from wildland blazes. Nevada has dedicated $3.5 million over the past three years to help woodland property owners pay for the preventative measure.

Residents Return To Joy, Despair – Gird To Help Each Other Rebuild
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/29/MNGV7QO8MP1.DTL

The powerful gusts of wind that residents feared Thursday did not come, and a forecast of calm weather for today has firefighters hopeful they’ll soon control the Lake Tahoe blaze that has destroyed more than 250 homes. About 70 percent of the 3,100-acre fire was contained Thursday, and it was likely that by this morning officials will have lifted some mandatory evacuations affecting neighborhoods closest to the lake.

Fire Takes Toll On Wildlife
http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_6259495

The female black bear descended the charred hillside. Her paws were badly blistered, the nails on two of them burned to nubs. She probably climbed a smoldering tree to escape the flames, then clung to it “like her momma told her,” and burned, said one local who saw her. She was found Thursday morning lying still and in pain in the shade of a redwood tree between houses on Gardner Street, where residents were returning home a day after fire officials lifted a mandatory evacuation.

Dry And Dangerous
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070629-9999-1n29dry.html

The driest two-year period in San Diego in more than a century has created a volatile fire situation in the county’s mountains and foothills. And no relief is in sight. “All that dryness translates into dry fuel,” said Bill Metcalf, fire chief for the North County Fire Protection District. “Right now, we’ve got the worst possible, the worst imaginable fuel conditions. It’s as dry as it usually is at the height of the season (early fall), and it will only get worse.”

[tx_eggman]

The fire has burned 3,100 acres, or about 4.7 square miles

I hate it when "journalists" don't fact check.

3100 acres = 4.84 square miles

Now I'm off in search of another nit to pick.

[fogofbobegabay]

Where can I get a high resolution version of this photo?

[calcowgirl]

Will 3.7MB do?

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jun2007/tahoe_ast_2007178_lrg.jpg

[fogofbobegabay]

Thank you very much.

[NormsRevenge]

I checked the site for the camera but didn’t see any larger ones available there.. The pic taker is called the ASTER.

I have to run out for a bit , I’ll look around a little later and post if I see them.

[calcowgirl]

Oops... The pic I linked was supposed to be a broader view, but I see now it isn’t.

I found it here:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17691

[fogofbobegabay]

I am feeling a little better. They released a new map,as of 2200, 6-27, they have cut a dozer line on Angora Ridge, from the Angora Highlands subdivision to near the old fire lookout. If they keep at it today, they should be able to reach Angora Lakes, some time today.

[fogofbobegabay]

Do you know what this means? “Active Fire Suppression Rehab. in Division S”. This was posted on the InciWeb site for the fire as a “planned action”

[Lurker]

“Active Fire Suppression Rehab. in Division S”.

It means the firefighters who have been actively fighting the fires are due for rehab. That means food, water, rest, and a medical check.

L