Tamarack Fire reaches Highway 88 mapping shows

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Woodfords and Alpine Village were evacuated Saturday as the Tamarack Fire has grown to 21,000 acres due to gusty winds, critically dry fuels and low relative humidity and is 0% contained, officials Saturday afternoon.

But satellite detection indicates the blaze has a few hot spots north of Highway 88 on Sunday morning in Alpine County as the fire blasted in a northerly direction on Saturday, west of Markleeville towards the Highway 89 corridor.

A few spots are located in Woodfords Canyon, and as the Fire Information for Resource Management web site showed, the fire may have doubled in size from the previous estimate over the last 12 hours.

Mandatory evacuations are also in place for Grover Hot Springs, Shay Creek, MarkleeVillage, Markleeville, Carson River Resort and Poor Boy Road area, Wolf Creek Campground, Silver Creek Campground, Sierra Pines, Upper and Lower Manzanita, Crystal Springs, Alpine Village, Diamond Valley Road and Hung-a-lel-ti. “The Mesa” was under a voluntary evacuation as of Saturday afternoon.

Evacuees have been directed to the Douglas County Community and Senior Center in Gardnerville, while fire officials have set up at Douglas High School in Minden.

Both locations were forced out of their locations in Alpine County as the fire overtook them.

Highway 89 is closed at the intersection of Highway 4 and 89. Highway 4 is currently open west of the Highway 89 and Highway 4 junction. Please slow down and drive with caution in the area as fire crews and equipment will continue to arrive throughout the evening. Refer to https://roads.dot.ca.gov/ for closure specifics.

Three structures have been lost and no injuries as of Saturday afternoon.

There are 120 people working the fire.

There are no evacuation orders for the Lake Valley Fire District, but officials recommend signing for red alerts at https://ready.edso.org/ .

Firefighters will be dealing with less than ideal conditions. The National Weather Service in Reno issued a red flag warning for the Lake Tahoe Basin that is in effect from midnight Sunday through 8 p.m. on Monday.