17 structures lost in Sand Fire

Roads are closed near the fire for safety reasons. Photo/Bill Kingman

Ten houses and seven outbuildings have been reduced to ash in the Sand Fire that is burning in rural El Dorado and Amador  counties.

The 3,800-acre blaze  is 35 percent contained. The fire started July 25 when a vehicle drove onto dry vegetation.

Highway 49 is open, but several roads in the Fair Play and Plymouth area are closed. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated. A shelter is set up at Ponderosa High School and animals are being taken to the El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville.

Smoke is drifting east through the Highway 50 corridor and into Truckee.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report