The Caldor Fire broke through Echo Pass on the Highway 50 corridor in South Lake Tahoe on Monday afternoon,
after scorching 191,607 acres in two weeks.
Between low-pressure mornings and high-pressure afternoons, the air quality in Grass Valley continues to
fluctuate between “bad” and “dangerous for vulnerable populations.
” The Dixie Fire, which started 90 miles to the north and burned for nearly 50 days, was the source of the
region’s first haze this fire season.
Apart from the usual precautions that should be taken when ‘air quality ‘ is poor — increased hydration
and reduced outdoor activity — Cal Fire Public Information Officer
Mary Eldridge said residents in Nevada and Placer counties should be aware that 20,000 evacuees from El Dorado County are expected to arrive this week.
more / Soggy start to the work week, Flash Flood Watch in effect
According to a Cal Fire report released Monday morning, the entire town of South Lake Tahoe is under
evacuation orders due to ‘the Caldor Fire.’
Eldridge added, “People are leaving (near Highway) 50.”
“They’re either heading to Reno or coming down and around,” says the narrator.
We in Nevada County must be prepared for an influx of people as well as a huge number of fire resources
from above and below.”
Highway 49, Eldridge believes, will also be affected by high traffic.
After reporting the Caldor Fire’s 20,000-acre progress Sunday night, Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter
characterized it as a “very difficult one.”
Porter said, “It’s burning heavy wood on the Highway 50 corridor between South Lake and Sacramento in
tough terrain and circumstances to battle fire.”
‘The Caldor Fire ‘ was 16 percent controlled as of Tuesday morning.
The Caldor and Dixie fires are the only two fires in California history to burn from east to west across the Sierra.
In a Monday afternoon report from the ‘Governor’s Office of Emergency Services’, Thom Porter, director
of Cal Fire, stated, “We haven’t had flames spread from one side of the Sierra to the other.”
“We did it with Dixie, and we’re doing it now with the Caldor — we need to be aware that there’s fire
activity (here) that we’ve never seen before.”
In approximately 1:30 a.m. Monday, Leelee Gilbert and her son Tadi Wright fled the basin and made up
camp at the Gardnerville shelter.
“I suppose we’ll find out fairly soon whether we still reside on Black Bart,” Gilbert joked.
The family has set up several tents on the dirt area just outside the shelter’s parking lot with their three
dogs and cat, as well as a newborn infant.
“We’re not going to put our dogs in a shelter,” Gilbert said emphatically. “We can’t do that to them since
they’re already nervous.”
Gilbert has lived in South Lake Tahoe since 1991 and has seen several fires, including the Angora Fire in
2007, but she believes the Caldor Fire is unique.
“This is a monster,” she said. ‘The Angora Fire’ was a neighborhood blaze, and it was terrifying
to know more about this /Thousands of people have been forced to escape the Caldor Fire, which has shut down U.S. 50 westbound.
because our neighbors’ houses were being destroyed, but you always had the sense they’d get it. You
could see they were in control. But this fire, it’s a mega-fire, and I’m not sure what they’ll be able to do
until it reaches 100,000 acres.”
The shelter is quickly filling up, and volunteers are rushing to help. According to one official, they are
overworked and understaffed.
The official said, “It’s pandemonium here; we don’t have enough persons to assist with everyone’s
requirements.”
THE FIRE EFFECT
The steep terrain and density of South Lake Tahoe’s forested regions, according to Sam Goodspeed,
Nevada City/Grass Valley Fire Department chief, are two of the major distinctions between the Caldor Fire
and the previous River and Bennett fire in Nevada County.
“The steeper it is, the quicker the fire will travel,” Goodspeed said. “Fire loves to climb, and Tahoe has
steep slopes, which implies fast fire development and long-range spotting.”
Spot fires, according to Porter and Eldridge, may originate from any direction due to the tendency of fire
to burn upward, floating embers, and rolling debris.
“It’s the Sierra Nevada,” Eldridge said, “with towering peaks and deep gorges.”
“You have a tree that has been burning for a week, it breaks and slides down the hill, and that may spark a
lot of spot fires. This is what we refer to as ‘tough terrain.’
Porter is pleased with his team’s work on the fire’s western flank,
where part of Grizzly Flat burned, but the eastern side is difficult to traverse, he said.
more/ Hurricane Ida, a Sustained winds storm, just arrived in Louisiana.
Porter said that the ‘east side ‘ of the fire has challenging driving conditions and is burning thick wood.
“We’ve made some progress – at times.”
Along with pre-existing accessibility problems, first responders must contend with meteorological
conditions such as wind speed and direction, as well as the flammability of fuel sources, according to
Goodspeed.
“Right now, they’re expecting gusty gusts, which will, once again, push the fire forward,” Goodspeed said.
Because there is greater access in densely populated regions, first responders may be more aggressive,
according to Goodspeed.
The flammability of Tahoe cabins is the flip side of battling fire closer to the highway.
“It’s an older structure,” Goodspeed said. ”It’s cedar shake roofs and shingles, so once you have these
older cabins involved, it becomes your main source of fuel.“
A phenomenon is known as air inversion,
in which all the temperature rises rather than falls with height, “put a cap on fire activity,” according to
Porter. Porter said that the advantages are only transitory, so it seems as if a plume of steam is shooting
out of a kettle each time the air clears.
and also he said, “It draws in oxygen from all angles and sets spot fires in all directions.”
Goodspeed expressed his gratitude for the lookout posts stationed across Nevada County.
Apart from being in a physical location to detect smoke early on, Goodspeed believes the area’s many
districts and agencies strengthen the collective response to fires when they occur.
Because of Tahoe’s beauty, population, and riches, the Caldor Fire is a top concern for ‘the federal and
state governments ‘, according to Goodspeed.
The National Guard, according to Eldridge, sent ground personnel to give fuel breaks to firefighters to
avoid fatalities in the Tahoe region.
“In terms of recreation and the beauty of the lake, I believe (Tahoe) is one of the crown jewels of the state
of California,” Goodspeed said.
“There is a lot of high monetary worth and possible loss in the regions surrounding the lake.”
‘Grass Valley, Nevada City ‘, and Colfax are all under a’ red flag warning ‘that will last until 11 p.m.
Tuesday, according to ‘the National Weather Service’. At higher altitudes around White Cloud
Campground, Truckee, and Emigrant Camp, the warning is extended by a full 24 hours.
Tuesday’s winds along the ridge are anticipated to reach 30 to 35 miles per hour, according to
meteorologist Eric Kurth.
The wind speed on Wednesday will be between 20 and 25 miles per hour.
The winds, along with the low humidity, are enough to keep the red flag flying throughout the region,
according to Kurth.
“We’re anticipating severe fire weather,” says the forecaster. Extreme fire behavior may be caused by a
combination of low humidity and dry fuels.”
According to Kurth, some precipitation from the coast may reach Lake Tahoe by Thursday, allowing fine
fuels like grass or pine needles to hold wet.
“From some maritime impact, we’re beginning to see improved (humidity) recovery in the (Central)
Valley,” Kurth said.
“That moisture is going to take some time to move up into that area.”
source /
‘This is just a monster’: Caldor Fire approaches South Lake Tahoe
