By Kathryn Reed SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., June 24 (Reuters) - More than 50 homes in Lake Tahoe went up in flames on Sunday as a fast-moving forest fire hit this resort community, prompting U.S. Forest Service officials to order residents out. Another 500 structures were threatened by the fire, which has consumed more than 500 acres (200 hectares) of private and federal land, but no one has been injured, said South Lake Tahoe Police Lt. Martin Hale. The cause of the blaze, first reported at about 2 p.m., was unknown, said Kit Bailey of the Forest Service. He added however that it was likely caused by humans because the weather was clear. Winds of 30 mph with gusts of 45 mph made it difficult for the 350 to 400 firefighters to get a handle on the fire, Bailey said. Chunks of ash dropped miles from the fire. Helicopters filled their buckets from Lake Tahoe and aircraft dropped retardant on the fire but officials could not estimate when the fire might be controlled or contained. This stretch of the Sierra Nevada mountains straddling California and Nevada has tinderbox-like conditions because of a unseasonably dry winter and recent near-record high temperatures, officials said. About 1,000 residents were evacuated from the community. "Neither my husband nor I brought clothes," said Renee Gorevin, 50, who planned to stay with friends. "I brought my dog and made sure my son and daughter got out." More than 80 percent of the Lake Tahoe Basin is owned by the U.S. Forest Service.
