All Animals Safe After Fire at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — All animals are safe following a fire on the property of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, Inc. Crews extinguished the fire and are now conducting an investigation. The South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue responded to the incident at around 1:00 p.m. on Monday.

The fire occurred outside the center’s main perimeter fence. Staff and volunteers at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care had the animals ready for evacuation within 20 minutes. Fortunately, they did not need to relocate the animals, which can cause additional stress.

In addition to South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, the Lake Valley Fire District and the U.S. Forest Service responded to the blaze. CAL FIRE has reported the fire as being about 10 acres or less on its incident map, prompting officials to advise the public to avoid the area while crews worked.

“We are extremely thankful to the first responders, our staff, and the volunteers who acted swiftly and calmly under pressure,” said LTWC Executive Director Catherin Mendes. “Their quick response made all the difference in ensuring the safety of everyone involved.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation, and officials suspect it may be human-caused. Four suspicious fires in total were reported near Pioneer Trail and Al Tahoe Boulevard, each measuring between 1/4 acre and 1/2 acre. All forward progress on these fires has been stopped, and clean-up is underway.