Firefighters drive through raging Tamarack wildfire

Local emergency officers issued an evacuation order, providing escorts for residents as a shelter was placed at the Douglas County Community and Senior Center.

Smoke is expected to combine with Dixie Fire's during the next hours, causing pollution to spread into the valley across the surrounding areas of Bridgeport and Tahoe.

Government agencies, as well as private organisations and businesses, are cooperating to respond to the fire with over 1,300 personnel working on it.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, the Tamarack Fire started as lightning hit in the Mokelumne Wilderness on a rocky ridgetop with sparse fuels and high winds, which caused a rapid downslope fire to spread.