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Caldor Fire is now 3-miles outside South Lake Tahoe, threatening 34,000 structures

Published

September 1, 2021

Mel Smothers plays the violin while stuck in traffic with evacuees as residents attempt to flee the Caldor fire in South Lake Tahoe, California on on August 30, 2021. Source - AFP/Josh Edleson

Mel Smothers plays the violin while stuck in traffic with evacuees as residents attempt to flee the Caldor fire in South Lake Tahoe, California on on August 30, 2021. Source - AFP/Josh Edleson

California’s fierce Caldor Fire tore through drought-stricken vegetation as firefighters scrambled Wednesday to prevent flames from reaching a Resort at the southern tip of Lake Tahoe after evacuation orders were expanded to neighboring Nevada.

The blaze was 3 miles (5 kilometers) outside of South Lake Tahoe by Tuesday afternoon, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Henry Herrera told KGO-TV, with the famed Heavenly Mountain Resort at the southern tip of Lake Tahoe right in its path.

The fire, which was only 18 percent contained late Tuesday, according to CNN News, has burned more than 199,000 acres. And it is expanding at a fierce pace. “We’re just right now trying to see what happens with the structures and businesses in our community and our homes,” South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace said.

“There was a huge amount of granite between the fire and us and I woke up on Sunday and it had, it had jumped that granite and now it is in the Lake Tahoe basin and homes are threatened and our community is threatened and I never thought that was possible,” Wallace said.

Live wildfire camera – Heavenly Ski Area 2 at 10:30 a.m. EDT on September 1, 2021, ElDorado Region:
Sponsor – USFS

According to the Associated Press today, the National Weather Service warned that critical weather conditions (Red Flag warnings) through Wednesday could include extremely low humidity, dry fuel, and wind gusts up to 30 mph (48 kph).

“With those winds, as it ran through the forest it created what’s called an active crown fire run, where the fire actually goes from treetop to treetop,” said Stephen Vollmer, a fire behavior analyst for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

On Tuesday night, Cal Fire Division Chief Erich Schwab said, “The fire burned through there extremely fast, extremely hot. And we did the best that we could.” He said that some homes did burn, but it is too early to know how many.

“(Wednesday) is going to be another bad weather day, but it will be the last one of those,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Dudley at a Tuesday evening press conference, reports SFGate. “There is a light at the end of this tunnel.”

In this article:Caldor Fire, Heavenly Resort, red flag warning, South Lake Tahoe

Written By Karen Graham

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.