SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — The huge California wildfire near the Lake Tahoe resort region is 49% contained and leaders of the firefighters who have battled the flames for 3½ weeks are increasingly positive in their outlook.

Officials say Tuesday that containment lines for the 338-square-mile Caldor Fire are holding well. Some sections of the perimeter remain a concern but on much of the rest of the fire the work has turned to mopping up, pulling miles of fire hose out of the forest and bringing down dangerously weakened trees.

Ongoing tallies have counted nearly 1,000 structures destroyed, including 776 homes.