'Get To Safety, A House Is Replaceable': Crews Race To Contain Fire As Alpine County Families Forced From Homes

MARKLEEVILLE (CBS13) – The Tamarack Fire burning near South Lake Tahoe has forced hundreds of people to leave their homes as crews work in tough conditions to battle the blaze.

On Monday night, crews were still trying to contain the fast-moving wildfire as families wait to go home.

Heavy smoke from the flames filled the sky over the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest.

Fire crews from California Nevada and Arizona were working fast to protect the wildland – but the fight's not easy.

According to Alpine County, low visibility is grounding air crafts. With skies filled with heavy smoke, planes carrying retardants and water crucial to the firefight can't fly. And when a wildfire starts to burn like this, it's all hands on deck to protect neighborhoods some have been forced out of.

"We live right where the fire first came down," said Jamie Johnston of Markleeville.

Johnston was evacuated this past Friday.

"The sky was turning black and red. We have a two-month-old and a two-and-a-half-year-old," she said.

With no warning, she and her husband decided on their own it was time to leave.

Her family is waiting to go back to their home – as local sheriff's deputies escort families into the evacuation zone to get only what they absolutely need.

"I'm breastfeeding, I'm trying to get essentials for the babies," Johnston said.

Johnston said her home is still standing.

"If you're waiting and they've told you to evacuate, fires—they move. Get to safety, a house is replaceable," Johnston said.

If you are ordered to evacuate in the overnight hours or in the coming days you need to do so. It not only keeps you and your loved ones safe but it allows the firefighters to better do their job of containing the fire.