Teens accidentally spark fire

An Indian Hills sister and brother who started a small brush fire as they tried to free a stuck 4-wheel vehicle late Sunday night, fled the scene and were found at home, authorities said.

Douglas Sgt. Tom Mezzetta said the fire was ignited about 10 p.m. and spread to .8-acre south of Arcadia Drive before it was contained by firefighters who responded from Indian Hills, Jacks Valley and Genoa.

The fire was reported by a neighbor who saw the flames and smelled smoke.

Mezzetta said the teenagers accidentally sparked the fire as they were trying to free the vehicle.

They fled in a second vehicle and went home where they were contacted by authorities who traced the license plate of the vehicle abandoned at the scene.

He said no charges were filed against the siblings, but the case had been turned over to the Nevada Division of Forestry for further investigation.

A small fire - less than an acre - ignited Saturday afternoon at Heavenly Mountain Resort near the bottom of the former Ridge Chair on the upper California side.

Four helicopters circled above the blaze, dousing it with water from a nearby pond while five fire engines and several handcrews waged the battle from the ground.

The fire, called in at 2:42 p.m., was contained by natural barriers, said Gareth Harris, fire marshal for Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District. It was located along a flat area above Sky Shoot off Lower Ridge Run, said Russ Pecoraro, Heavenly's spokesman.

The cause is under investigation but fire officials say it was human caused.

Heavenly's snow-making system was opened so firefighters could access water and the tram was used due to a wedding on top of the mountain scheduled to begin in the evening.