(updates acreage in paragraph 3; new info in paragraphs 4, 5)

By Kathryn Reed

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., June 24 (Reuters) - A fast-moving forest fire burned out of control in the popular Lake Tahoe resort area on the eastern border of California, destroying more than 165 homes and structures, officials said on Sunday.

The blaze, believed to be man-made, was fanned by strong winds and came as the most populous U.S. state braced for a tough fire season following an unusually dry winter.

The U.S. Forest Service said the firestorm had burned about 2,000 acres (809 hectares) around South Lake Tahoe, a community on North America's largest alpine lake, near the Nevada border. South Lake Tahoe Police Lt. Martin Hale said no injuries were reported.

Entire streets were obliterated as residents fled the blinding ash and suffocating heat under mandatory evacuation orders.

"I've been a fireman for 22 years and I've never seen anything like this before," a firefighter told a local television news station.

Winds of 30 mph (48 kph) with gusts of 45 mph (72 kmh) made it difficult for the 350 to 400 firefighters to get a handle on the fire, Bailey said. Chunks of ash dropped miles from the fire.

Helicopters filled their buckets from Lake Tahoe and aircraft dropped retardant on the fire but officials could not estimate when the fire might be controlled or contained.

This stretch of the Sierra Nevada mountains straddling California and Nevada has tinderbox-like conditions because of a unseasonably dry winter and recent near-record high temperatures, officials said.

About 1,000 residents were evacuated from the community.

"Neither my husband nor I brought clothes," said Renee Gorevin, 50, who planned to stay with friends. "I brought my dog and made sure my son and daughter got out."

More than 80 percent of the Lake Tahoe Basin is owned by the U.S. Forest Service. (Additional reporting by Dean Goodman in Los Angeles)

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