Two vacation homes burned at the 2900 block of Oakland Avenue early Saturday morning causing an estimated $90,000 in damage, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department reported.
The houses were not occupied during the fire, and both structures were damaged but not destroyed, said South Lake Tahoe Fire Division Chief Bill Gilliland.
"On arrival we had 30-foot-flame lengths from the building," he said. "We saved about 50 to 60 percent of both buildings."
When the fire was called in at 1:41 a.m both homes were reported to be burning. The cause of the blaze is under investigation by local authorities and the California State Fire Marshal's Office.
"It could be accidental," Gilliland said. "It could be something that was set. We won't know until we get results back from the state. We called the state fire marshall and spent all day yesterday utill 8:30 (p.m.) going through the place. Anytime there's a fire of such magnitude, larger than one structure, we need to bring in some assistance."
It took 15 firefighters 26 minutes to extinguish the fire with the area cleared by 5:30 a.m. Tahoe Douglas Fire Department assisted at the scene with three men and one engine.
Firemen "put a water stream between houses" to protect homes surrounding the fire, Gilliland said.
South Lake Tahoe Fire Department also extinguished a small grass fire about hour after the house fires were reported.
"There was another fire about a block over," Gilliland said. "I don't know if that was a coincidence or if it had something to do with the original fire.
It could have been a spot fire where an ember blows up and comes down and starts another fire."