Reuters, July 2

Here's the last update from Reuters:

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., July 2 (Reuters) - Firefighters have fully contained a weeklong fire at California's Lake Tahoe after it destroyed over 250 homes and consumed 3,100 acres (1,250 hectares) of bone-dry forest, officials said on Monday.

Some 400 firefighters of the 2,000 working last week remained on site to fully extinguish the fire considered the worst to hit the area around the resort town of South Lake Tahoe in a century.

The blaze forced more than 3,000 people to evacuate homes and many who have returned in recent days have found little remaining. Losses are expected to exceed $150 million.

Combing through the debris of his home, Keith Cooney said the conflagration claimed all his possessions.

"I feel like I have to make the effort. It helps me so I know what to claim," Cooney said. "I had a Lionel train from the 1940s that I thought would make it. It just melted."

Fire officials feared high winds would fan the blaze but mild weather prevailed last week around Lake Tahoe, one of California's top attractions, allowing fire crews to hold defensive lines.