SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (KTXL) — It was 15-years-ago on Friday that the Angora Fire devastated the South Shore of Lake Tahoe as hundreds of homes were destroyed or damaged.
The fire started at 2:15 p.m. on June 24, 2007 near Seneca Drive due to an illegal campfire being burned the night before, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The fire would spread over more than 3,000 acres and destroy 282 homes, 67 commerical structures and damage 35 other homes, according to the forest service. The estimated total cost of the damage was $141 million.
At the height of the fire nearly 2,200 firefighters were battling back the flames and would end up costing $11.7 million to do so, the forest service said.
A recent study by the National Interagency Fire Center reported that 96% of wildfires in California in 2022 have been human-caused.