California's Lieutenant Governor signed a State of Emergency on Monday dedicating funds to fight the forest fire in the South Lake Tahoe area. Meanwhile, state fire officials say the blaze has burned more than 200 buildings and 2,000 acres since it began Sunday afternoon. From Sacramento, Jenny O'Mara has more.
Fire officials say their primary efforts have been to protect homes -- but they're hoping to make more progress on containing the wildland blaze.
At a Capitol press conference, Ken Pimlott with the state fire agency called "Cal Fire" says the weather hasn't cooperated; dry windy conditions have hampered early efforts to fight the fire from above.
Pimlott says authorities foresaw a fire like this given the dry conditions this year.
Pimlott : This scenario just happens to be where the weather factors lined up. We've got significant dried fuel conditions, this particular area has a very large component of dead and downed, heavier fuels like timber.
Federal, state and local resources are being used to fight the blaze. Governor Schwarzenegger, who is in Europe, is getting hourly briefings.
State fire officials would not comment on the cause of the fire, but say investigators are already on the scene.
