Gov. tells Calif. fire victims ‘we have your back’

(31 Aug 2021) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4341852, 4341940 A huge firefighting force gathered Tuesday to defend Lake Tahoe from a raging wildfire that forced the evacuation of California communities on the south end of the alpine resort and put others across the state line in Nevada on notice to be ready to flee. "We're doing everything in our power to have your back," Gov. Gavin Newsom told residents during a news conference in Oakland. He said he would visit the South Lake Tahoe area on Wednesday. Thick smoke prevented air firefighting operations periodically last week. But since then, 23 helicopters and three air tankers dumped thousands of gallons of water and retardant on the fire, fire spokesman Dominic Polito said. The National Weather Service warned of critical fire weather conditions through Wednesday due to strong gusts, very low humidity and extremely dry fuel. More than 15,000 firefighters were battling dozens of California blazes, including crews from Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia, said Mark Ghilarducci, director of California's Office of Emergency Services. Crews from Louisiana had to return to that state because of Hurricane Ida, he said. The Caldor Fire has scorched nearly 300 square miles (777 square kilometers) since breaking out Aug. 14. After the weekend's fierce burning, containment dropped from 19% to 16%. More than 600 structures have been destroyed, and at least 33,000 more were threatened. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...