Five homes and an outbuilding were destroyed Saturday afternoon on the west shore of Lake Tahoe when a house fire above Sunnyside forced evacuations in the Tahoe Park/Talmont area.
No injuries were reported in the Washoe Fire, but the wind-driven blaze sparked fears of another major wildfire in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Saturday's fire was about 20 miles north of South Lake Tahoe, where the Angora Fire that began June 24 destroyed 254 homes and charred more than 3,000 acres. It took firefighters eight days to contain the fire, at a cost of $12.1 million.
The Washoe fire was reported at 1:23 p.m. as a structure fire on Washoe Way. The fire was reported to have spread to as many as four other residences and was burning on forest service land north of Washoe Way.
At around 3:15 p.m. the fire had been reported above Granlibakken.
By late Saturday evening, the behavior of the fire had "significantly diminished," according to the U.S. Forest Service, and had entered an area recently treated for fuels reduction to decrease fire intensity. Fire officials said containment would be achieved Saturday evening. Firefighters expect to have the fire contained at just 35 acres.
Most of those evacuated were returning to their homes, said Barbara Rebiskie, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.
"It's looking pretty good. They're doing a good job out there," she said.
More than 20 engines, three air tankers and several helicopters were on scene to help battle the blaze.
The fire was caught successfully in the initial attack phase, meaning it was handled with local resources " the U.S. Forest Service fire crews unified with the North Tahoe Fire Protection District resources, said Terri Marceron, forest supervisor for the Lake Tahoe Basin.
The fire began in the vicinity of Washoe and Sequoia streets in the Talmont area but began spotting above Granlibakken by 3:15 p.m.
The fire caused the temporary closure of Highway 89 at Sunnyside and Squaw Valley on Saturday afternoon, but by Saturday evening the highway had reopened.
