So far, at least 220 buildings have been destroyed.

Thousands of people were forced to flee as winds as high as 35 mph pushed the flames toward hundreds more homes on the outskirts of this resort city. Overnight, the wind died down and temperatures dropped to the 30s, aiding the hundreds of firefighters trying to contain the blaze.

“This is just a monster of a fire,” Lt. Kevin House of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department told ABC’s “Good Morning America” this morning. “It’s just a very difficult thing to get on top of.”

House said there were no reports of missing persons, but “the truth is we haven’t really been able to get in there and see.”

The National Weather Service today issued a dense smoke advisory, warning people from South Lake Tahoe to Carson City about heavy ash making it difficult to see and breathe.

The hills around Tahoe have some of the most popular hiking trails in California — and this is just another reminder that fire danger is extremely high this year, and summer’s barely getting started. Not sure I want to think about how dry it’s gonna be come August. Forget about campfires this summer.