Cash coming to Tahoe animal center where burned cub escaped

By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A new pledge to match half the contributions for a $1 million expansion at a wildlife rescue center at Lake Tahoe is a welcome relief for staff and volunteers who’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster since a bear cub burned in a summer wildfire escaped. The Lake Tahoe Wildlife Center has been making repairs directed by California regulators since the cub dubbed “Tamarack” tunneled under an electric fence in August. Two days later, volunteers photographed a cub clinging to a tree in a nearby forest. Officials became convinced it was him and he could fend for himself. A center spokesman says the new pledge means the expansion should begin next year.