The US Coast Guard has arrived at the scene of a fire at Lake Tahoe that ripped through a docked tourist cruise boat under repair, severely damaging the popular paddle wheeler and injuring two workers on board. The 44m-long Tahoe Queen can hold up to 300 passengers, but only the workers were on board when the fire broke out about 8am local time at Zephyr Cove on the south end of the lake in Nevada. Authorities originally said one contractor suffered smoke inhalation before crews extinguished the flames about an hour later. Zach Hatie, a trail guide at the nearby Zephyr Cove Stables, said flames were shooting out every window of the boat's cabin. A plume of smoke was visible several kilometres away from the mountain lake that straddles the California-Nevada line atop the Sierra southwest of Reno.

Source: New Zealand Herald August 16, 2016 22:18 UTC