Winds frustrate effort to corral wildfire

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE >> Firefighters battling a stubborn California wildfire Friday near the Lake Tahoe resort region faced gusty winds and dry conditions that made vegetation ready to burn.

The Caldor Fire has proved so difficult to fight that fire managers this week pushed back the projected date for full containment from early next week to Sept. 8, but even that estimate was tenuous.

“I think that’s going to be assessed on a day-by-day basis,” said Keith Wade, a spokesman for the incident management team.

Flames churned through mountains just southwest of the Tahoe Basin, home to thousands and a playground for millions of tourists who visit the alpine lake in warmer months, ski at the many resorts in winter, and gamble at its casinos year-round. The fire’s eastern edge was about 7 or 8 miles from the city of South Lake Tahoe, said Robert Baird, a U.S. Forest Service director of fire and aviation management.