Congressman. McClintock calls for declaration of state of emergency for Tamarack fire

In his letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom, McClintock noted that the blaze has “surpassed 58,000 acres with little containment.”

He said “the fire is devastating in Alpine County, forcing evacuations, damaging property and threatening infrastructure.”

McClintock noted that the region’s main economic assets are its public lands, recreational opportunities and seasonal events “which have already been canceled due to the Tamarack fire.”

“As such,” he wrote, “a declaration of a state of emergency is essential to ensure that resources are quickly deployed to respond to this devastating forest fire.”

McClintock ended by asking Newsom to declare a state of emergency and to ensure that he is doing “everything” in his power to “provide assistance to the affected communities”.

In recent days, crews have attempted to prevent the blaze that straddles the California-Nevada border from crossing the corridor of Highway 395, but Thursday afternoon the blaze burning south of Lake Tahoe exploded.

“Air Resources estimate the location to be around 2,500 acres at 4:10 pm,” the incident management team said in a Facebook post. “Firefighters and planes continue to fight in exceptionally difficult weather and fuel conditions. “

The Tamarack Fire started in Alpine County near Markleeville, Calif., And exploded in size last week as strong winds fanned flames devouring a barren landscape. The flames swept through Nevada this week, the U.S. Fire Department said.

Fire is burning in a dry landscape after two consecutive dry winters.

“As always, the concern is the continued hot, dry and windy weather, and that is really and has been the determining factor in regards to fire activity, especially when these winds line up with the terrain,” Tracy LeClair, spokesperson for the incident management team, said.