High winds expected at California's Lake Tahoe threaten to fan a raging wildfire that has destroyed hundreds of buildings and forced thousands of people to flee.
The four-day-old Angora Fire has consumed 1,250 hectares of bone-dry forest and destroyed 251 structures, including 176 homes, south of Lake Tahoe, one of the state's most scenic attractions and a popular recreation area.
The fire, believed to be caused by human activity, is 44 per cent contained but threatened 950 homes and 325 commercial properties on Wednesday morning in the US.
The 1,800 firefighters combating the blaze were bracing for wind gusts that may top 65 km/h over the next few days, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Firefighters had thought they were gaining the upper hand but on Tuesday afternoon the flames jumped a containment line and raced toward two heavily populated neighbourhoods in the town of South Lake Tahoe.
Fire crews were caught by surprise. Two firefighters about to be overrun by fast-moving flames survived by deploying emergency shelters and later walked to safety.
Residents also had little time to act.
"We left when it was about 10 yards from the backyard," said Mark Anthenien, a 52-year-old resident of a street abutting forest on the northern edge of the blaze.
Crews kept the fire from spreading into his neighbourhood.
In a neighbourhood consumed by fire, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger surveyed damage for the first time since returning from Europe and was surprised by the few things that survived, including a dumbbell.
"Look at this - amazing," the former bodybuilding champion said.
Schwarzenegger said the state government would seek financial help from the US government to help pay the costs of fighting the fire and for rebuilding.
Losses from the fire may exceed $US150 million ($A178.5 million), said Kit Bailey, the US Forest Service's local fire chief.
Fire officials have revised their target date for fully containing the fire to July 3 from July 1, and have told crews their top priority is to keep the blaze within containment lines, said Dan Tiedemann, a US Forest Service firefighter.
As the Tallac Village and Tahoe Keys neighbourhoods were evacuated on Tuesday, residents of areas burned in previous days began returning to survey damage to their homes. Many found only foundations, chimneys and other inflammable structures that survived the conflagration.
The forestry and fire protection department expects a busy fire season due to scant rainfall in California this past winter.
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