Fire severely damages Lake Tahoe Queen cruise boat

STATELINE, Nev. (AP) — The Latest on a tourist cruise boat that was ablaze on Lake Tahoe (all times local):

9:45 a.m.

A witness says she saw huge plumes of smoke coming from a tourist cruise boat that was ablaze on Lake Tahoe.

Karen Foster, whose Zephyr Cove, Nevada, home overlooks the lake, snapped photos of the Tahoe Queen paddle wheeler as smoke poured out and firefighters shot water at it from a dock.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District says one contractor working on the Tahoe Queen paddle wheeler docked at Zephyr Cove suffered smoke inhalation Tuesday morning.

The popular two-story boat operated by a motorized paddle wheel had its season cut short due to Tahoe's low lake level so it hasn't been offering rides to tourists for weeks.

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9:15 a.m.

Fire crews at Lake Tahoe are responding to a fire on a tourist cruise boat on the south end of the lake.

KTVN-TV in Reno reports one person has been injured in the fire on the Tahoe Queen paddle wheeler at Zephyr Cove, northeast of Stateline. It says authorities canceled a call for a hazardous material response team shortly after the fire was reported at about 8 a.m.

No other details are immediately available.