Thursday, June 28, 2007
I-Reporters help track massive wildfires
The numbers of the Lake Tahoe wildfire speak for themselves. Just think about it. Hundreds of homes destroyed. Thousands forced to evacuate. Millions of dollars in damage. CNN received immeasurable help from I-Reporters tracking every step of the intractable blaze. Day by day, moment by moment, we could count on you to send new pictures and fresh video of a fire that put up a big fight. (See: Your photos, video of the blaze)

Kyle Conroy, 18, just graduated from South Lake Tahoe High School. Conroy says he and a friend heard the fire was coming close to the school. They then drove as close as they could to the scene to shoot the video, illustrating the massive inferno residents in the area are facing everyday.

Another teenage I-Reporter, Mark Dalmacio, 18, was raised in South Lake Tahoe, California. He says the sky is gray and “looks like a war zone” with fire trucks constantly on the horizon. “You can’t see the other side of the lake,” Dalmacio said, as he described the thick smoke. “You can barely see the tops of the mountain.”

Burning bush and falling ashes are darkening the California skies. Emergency helicopters are dropping water. And, all of this was captured on camera and then quickly sent in as I-Reports. We couldn’t have done it without you.
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