Crews struggle to stop fire bearing down on Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of firefighters are trying to box in a California wildfire that is advancing toward Lake Tahoe and has shrouded the popular vacation spot in ash and yellow smoke. Meanwhile in Southern California, at least a dozen homes and outbuildings burned after a fire broke out Wednesday and quickly ran through tinder-dry brush in mountains northeast of Los Angeles. The Caldor Fire, less than 20 miles southwest of Tahoe, has destroyed at least 461 homes since it began Aug. 14. Fire officials say it is the nation’s top priority for fire resources. The Lake Tahoe area had the nation’s worst air pollution again Wednesday.