The Gap Fire near Interstate 80 started Sunday afternoon on Tahoe National Forest. A helicopter drops water on the fire Monday afternoon. (Photo by John Hart)

Heat, wind and dry wildland helped kick Tahoe National Forest's biggest fire of the year into high gear Monday, causing highway closures and evacuations in Nevada and Placer counties.

The blaze had claimed 1,900 acres by 8 p.m. - up from 300 acres just 10 hours earlier.

"When the heat of the day picks up, fire behavior becomes more aggressive," TNF spokeswoman Ann Westling said, noting flame heights reached 300 feet on south-facing slopes.

What's worse, she added, is that forecasts call for hotter, drier and windier conditions today, and the fire won't be contained until Aug. 20. It was 10 percent contained by Monday night.

Highway 20 was closed from Nevada City east to Interstate 80, and the interstate was closed from Auburn to the Donner Lake interchange.

Evacuated in Nevada County were all campgrounds and recreational areas at Lake Spaulding, Marin Sierra Boy Scout Camp, Donner Mine Camp and Bowman Lake Road from Highway 20 to Fuller Lake.

Placer County residents in Yuba Gap, Snowflower Camp, Lake Valley Reservoir and Emigrant Gap in Carpenter Flat were also evacuated. Many motorists stopped at the TNF office in Nevada City for detour directions.

"Nobody likes to have their vacation interrupted, but folks have been very understanding and trying to make the best of it," Westling said.

Evacuations inconvenienced a handful of families in Bear Valley. One resident, Paul Moan, pulled his boat from Lake Spaulding and parked it along Zeibright Road, where he watched smoke rise in the east and waited for permission to return home.

"No," he wasn't happy, he said, "but all it takes is a wind shift. Things could get ugly real fast."

In fact, winds changed directions 180 degrees during the day - from southwesterly to northeasterly.

Moan's family is among six that live on Zeibright Road all year. "The biggest danger we have is a fire. It's the only bad thing about living here, other than mosquitoes," he said.

Earlier, Nevada County Sheriff's Deputy Andy Burr told one boater to get off Lake Spaulding, and deputies from both Nevada and Placer counties helped vacationers and residents evacuate.

Eastbound 80 traffic was being escorted 300 vehicles at a time, while westbound traffic was closed. Eastbound Highway 20 traffic was eventually opened Monday night.

Smoke was visible from dozens of miles away.

Near the front lines, haze reduced the sun to a muted, red ball as ash fell like snow.

"It almost looks like a whole other planet," one California Highway Patrolman said, looking to the sky above Yuba Gap.

Crews fought to keep flames from hopping north over Interstate 80 at Yuba Gap, TNF information officer Bill Baker said. Water-hauling helicopters repeatedly put out small spot fires in a wedge of land between Highway 20 and I-80.

Firefighters also set fires to reduce fuel in the blaze's path.

In that same area, strike teams awaited orders, and at least one bulldozer driver eagerly awaited his chance to attack.

"Excitement!" Lynn Sperling of Gridley said to describe his anticipation. "I like to get busy, get in the zone!"

Dane Siller, owner of Big Hill Logging in Yuba City, brought four bulldozers to help fire crews draw a line around part of the fire.

Two buildings were lost in the flames - a house near Yuba Gap and a storage building. A firefighter's twisted ankle was the only reported injury, and there were no reports of heat exhaustion, according to Westling.

The fire started about 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the Emigrant Gap area. While lightning was first suspected, Westling said, officials are looking at an abandoned campfire as the possible cause.

The fire is the forest's largest of the season, after the Martis Fire claimed about 200 acres of TNF land earlier this summer. Rainfall in the area was 43 percent of normal this year.

"We're in a situation where it's very hot and dry," Westling said. "In essence, this is burning like it would be at the end of September."

Acres: 1,900 (by 8 p.m. Monday)

First reported: 1:30 p.m. Sunday

Cause: Nothing confirmed, but an abandoned campfire is under investigation

Firefighting personnel: 550

Engines: 23

Water tenders: Four

Helicopters: Three

Air tankers: Six

Bulldozers: Nine

Destroyed buildings: Two (a house and storage building)

Estimated date of containment: Monday

Online information: www.YubaNet.com

[Nevada County Consolidated, Grass Valley, and Higgins Fire Districts responded as a part of a strike team for structure protection]

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