Inferno nears Lake Tahoe as 15,000 firefighters tackle blazes in California

A FEROCIOUS wildfire is approaching Lake Tahoe just hours after roads were clogged with fleeing cars as the entire California resort city of South Lake Tahoe was ordered to evacuate.

Communities just across the state line in Nevada have also been warned to get ready to leave.

The popular holiday destination, which is normally filled with tens of thousands of summer tourists, was emptied yesterday as the massive Caldor Fire expanded to the north and south.

Vehicles loaded with bikes and camping gear and hauling boats were gridlocked in traffic among the hazy atmosphere as police and other emergency vehicles whizzed by.

South Lake Tahoe’s main medical facility, Barton Memorial Hospital, evacuated dozens of patients, and the El Dorado Sheriff’s Office transferred inmates to a neighbouring jail.

“It’s more out of control than I thought,” evacuee Glen Naasz said of a fire that has crossed state highways 50 and 89 and burned mountain cabins as it moved down slopes into the Tahoe Basin.

Additional strike teams arrived late on Monday night and many of the new firefighters were immediately dispatched to protect homes in the Christmas Valley area about 10 miles south of the city, said fire spokesman Dominic Polito.

“We’re flooding the area with resources,” he said. “Wherever there are structures, there are firefighters on the ground.”

Residents just over the state line in Douglas County, Nevada, were also under evacuation warnings.

The threat of fire is so widespread the US Forest Service has announced all national forests in California will be closed until September 17.

More than 15,000 firefighters are battling dozens of California blazes, including crews from Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia, said Mark Ghilarducci, director of California’s office of emergency services.