![]() ![]() "Everybody is pretty on edge," says Geoffrey Schladow, a professor of engineering at UC Davis and director of the Tahoe Environmental Research Center, speaking to Bay Area News Group. The fire has burned more than 175,000 acres, destroyed hundreds of homes and is currently 14 percent contained. The fire continues to advance towards South Lake Tahoe and a red flag warning has been issued as high winds begin to kick up. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The Caldor Fire burns homes along a ridge on Augnear South Lake Tahoe, California. Fire crews prepare to battle the Caldor Fire on Augnear South Lake Tahoe, California. Bliss State Park, Rubicon Point, Sugar Pine State Park, Berkeley Camp, and Camp Richardson. Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Sierra-at-Tahoe ski areas are all threatened by flames, with the latter having served as a staging area for firefighters beating back the flames over the weekend.Īlso threatened are multiple beloved camps and scenic areas in the southern part of the lake, including Emerald Bay, D.L. The last fire to hit South Lake Tahoe was the Angora Fire in 2007, but it was contained at just 3,100 acres - though it destroyed 280 buildings. Now, it's very real."Īpproximately one-third of Lake Tahoe's shoreline is now under an evacuation order, and if the Caldor Fire succeeds in fully engulfing the area, it will be the first fire to do so in more than a century. "Until this morning, I didn't think there was a chance it could come into this area. There's 3,500 firefighters, all those bulldozers and all the air support,'" Breslin tells the station. South Lake Tahoe resident Ken Breslin likely echoes the thoughts of many area residents, speaking to ABC 7, when he explains that up until Monday, it seemed like Cal Fire crews were going to keep the Caldor Fire from cresting over the ridges and entering the Tahoe Basin. At one point, as KRON4 reports, area resident Mel Smothers got out of his car in standstill traffic and played his violin to help pass the time for the people stuck in cars around him. He added that, given climate change and the areas of desiccated forest that have not burned for so long, none of this can be considered anomalous anymore.Ī massive traffic jam formed Monday as South Lake Tahoe residents attempted to flee the area on eastbound Highway 50 toward Nevada, lasting at least three hours as cars inched along. "There is fire activity happening in California that we have never seen before," Porter said.Ĭhris Anthony, Cal Fire’s assistant deputy director of cooperate fire protection, training, safety and emergency medical services, tells Bay Area News Group that the drought and recent wind conditions have contributed to the "resistance to control that we’re seeing with the Caldor Fire." Its northeastern front now sits just six miles outside South Lake Tahoe, and the fire was just 16% contained as of this morning. The fire grew to 191,607 acres overnight, up from 177,260 acres on Monday morning, and as Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter said in an update, per Bay Area News Group, the fire advanced about eight miles since yesterday. But while spot fires have made it into Christmas Valley and the community of Meyers, most of the flames have so far been held back by the granite outcroppings around Lower Echo Lake and Lake Aloha. The Caldor Fire continued its steady advance toward the Tahoe Basin on Monday amid a mass evacuation of South Lake Tahoe. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |