Caldor Fire Continues March to Lake Tahoe as Winds Expected to Pick Up

By Gabrielle Canon, Guardian UK

27 August 21

Thousands of firefighters working to bar blaze from reaching Tahoe Basin, a home to thousands and tourist destination

he Caldor fire continued its march through dense forest in the Sierra Nevada toward Lake Tahoe on Friday, as winds and temperatures are expected to pick up and humidity is set to drop.

Thousands of firefighters are working to bar the fire from reaching the Tahoe Basin, a home to thousands and destination for millions of tourists who visit the alpine lake on the California-Nevada border.

If the fire continues its path, fire crews plan to make a stand at Echo Summit, a mountain pass where US Route 50 begins its descent toward Lake Tahoe.

“Everything’s holding real good along Highway 50,” said the Cal Fire operations section chief Cody Bogan. “The fire has been backing down real slowly ... we’ve just been allowing it to do it on its own speed. It’s working in our favor.”

Johnny White and Lauren McCauley left their home near Echo Summit on Thursday after seeing flames on the webcam at their local ski resort.

Even as ash rained down under a cloud of heavy smoke, the couple wasn’t panicked because they had an early warning to leave, and wanted to avoid last-minute pandemonium.

“You don’t want everyone in the basin panicking and scrambling to try and leave at the same time,” McCauley said.

The Caldor fire is one of nearly 90 large blazes in the US. There were more than a dozen big fires in California alone, including one that destroyed 18 homes in southern California.

A new fire broke out Thursday in the Sierra foothills, forcing evacuations near the historic Gold Rush town of Sonora, just dozens of miles from Yosemite national park.

Fires in California have destroyed about 2,000 structures and forced thousands to evacuate while also blanketing large swaths of the west in unhealthy smoke.

Climate change has made the west warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists.

The Caldor fire has been the nation’s top firefighting priority because of its proximity to Lake Tahoe, where its tourist economy should be in full swing this time of year.

“This is the week before Labor Day weekend, a busy weekend, normally,” said Joe Irvin, South Lake Tahoe city manager, . “That is not going to be the case this year.”

On Thursday, visitors were still crowding the highway that loops the giant lake and riding bikes and walking the beaches, but many are wearing masks. The lake, known for its water clarity and the granite peaks that surround it, has been shrouded in dense smoke that has reached hazardous levels.

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority has recommended tourists postpone their travel.

The Caldor fire has burned over 139,000 acres, or 218 sq miles (565 sq km), and was only 12% contained on Thursday.

Retired fire district captain Joe McAvoy, who lost his own home in the fire, said wildfires larger than 100,000 acres were once-in-a-lifetime events in his career. Not any more.

“Now it seems like they’re all 100,000 acres,“ McAvoy said. It’s way more extreme … Now [fires] are 100,000 acres and it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, big deal.’ You know, it’s every fire.”