Smoke hinders air attack on Tahoe wildfire

Story Highlights

• Lieutenant governor declares a state of emergency for the area
• Forest Service official says wildfire caused by humans; unsure if deliberate
• Number of firefighters doubled Monday to around 800

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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, California (CNN) -- Lower winds Monday helped firefighters attack the Angora fire, which has burned 2,400 acres and destroyed at least 240 homes south of Lake Tahoe, state fire officials said.

But lesser winds meant more smoke in the Tahoe Basin, hindering an air assault on the blaze.

"The strong winds we saw yesterday appear to be subsiding," said Ken Pimlott, assistant deputy director of CalFire, "and that allows firefighters to go direct. But it has made it more difficult to get in with aviation equipment. (Watch how the Lake Tahoe fire is being called 'the worst in years' )

Fire officials said late Monday that the fire was 40 percent contained.

The firefighting effort got a boost when the state of California declared a state of emergency for El Dorado County, freeing up state funds for fighting the blaze and repairing the infrastructure.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi signed the declaration, because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is on an official visit to Europe.

"Tahoe is part of my life since I was a kid. To see what is happening there is tragic, but it was expected," said Garamendi, who represented the area in the California State Assembly and Senate from 1974 to 1984.

Garamendi called the fire a "wake-up call" for homeowners to obey a state law that requires a 100-foot "defensible space" between their homes and wildlands. (Watch how the blaze forced evacuations at a popular resort )

"If you're not doing that you're running a risk for yourself, and you're running a risk for the firefighters that might come to protect that home," he said.

Garamendi said Schwarzenegger is receiving hourly briefings on the fire and has pledged all state support needed to fight the flames.

The fire began Sunday afternoon, said Henry Renteria, director of California's Office of Emergency Services.

Renteria said the blaze has caused no fatalities or injuries. A thousand structures are still threatened, he said, and mandatory evacuations are in place for about that many residences.

The number of firefighters was being doubled Monday to around 800, said Lt. Kevin House, spokesman for the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. A dozen aircraft also are on hand to take part in the effort when they can.

House said the personnel are "just taking it one step at a time. But the whole plan is to be more aggressive."

Matt Mathes, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said there is no question the fire -- burning just west of the town of Meyers -- was caused by human activity.

However, he said, it isn't known whether the blaze was deliberately set or if it started accidentally -- for example, by children playing with matches or a discarded cigarette.

Jackie Faike, an information officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said, "It looks suspicious."

Firefighters are hoping to be helped by higher humidity and calmer winds. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph spread sparks Sunday afternoon, when the blaze grew from 700 acres to 2,000 in the space of three hours. (See the wildfire's hot spots)

Capt. Scott Swift of the Lake Valley Fire Protection District told the Los Angeles Times many of the homes were lost in the first half hour.

Fire Information Officer Yvonne Jones said the easing winds should be a big help.

"With less wind there is less spotting occurring, there's less ground fire occurring, so it's much easier for human beings and aircraft to fight the fire," she told CNN.

Many evacuating residents had to flee on foot, taking just what they could carry, as the fire devoured cars and homes in its path, House said.

House said earlier that both vacation homes and permanent residences were wiped out.

Dennis Cocking, the South Tahoe Public Utility District's information officer, said some contractors who do work for his agency lost their homes.

"This is a small community ... and all of a sudden you're hearing so-and-so lost their home and so-and-so lost their home," Cocking said. "It's going to hit hard once all of the final accounting is done here."

He called the fire "the biggest disaster that's happened to this community, I don't know, in probably forever."