Caldor Fire

Event Summary #1 | Summary
Posting Date: August 31, 2021, 1:00:00 PM

AIR is monitoring the Caldor Fire, which started on August 14 and has grown to 191,607 acres impacting El Dorado County in California. This fire is 16% contained after having destroyed 669 structures and damaged another 40. The fire is projected by CAL FIRE to be contained on October 13.

The governors of California and Nevada declared states of emergency yesterday, August 30. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Alpine, Amador, and Placer counties, which surround the Lake Tahoe region. Officials have told everyone in the city of South Lake Tahoe to get out.

There are evacuation orders and warnings in many parts of El Dorado County and in parts of Amador County and Alpine County California.

Road closures include sections of Highway 88, Highway 50, and Highway 89. The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region temporary closed nine National Forests from August 22, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. through September 6, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. [PDT].

More than a dozen large fires are being fought by more than 15,200 firefighters across California and nearly 90 in the United States, mainly in the West. These fires include the Dixie Fire, the second largest in the state’s recorded history having burned 1,205 square miles about 65 miles north of the Lake Tahoe-area Caldor blaze. The Dixie Fire is 48% contained and has destroyed nearly 700 homes since it began in early July. Only twice in California’s recorded history have blazes burned from one side of the Sierra Nevada to the other, both this month, with the Caldor and Dixie fires.

The Lake Tahoe area in the Sierra Nevada mountains is usually a year-round recreation spot on the state line with Nevada that attracts tourists, who can easily triple the population there. Tourists have been warned to stay away during the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

CAL FIRE Current Situation
Today’s expected southwestern wind pattern and dry fuels caused an increase in fire behavior located in the northeastern and eastern areas of the fire. Fire continues to back down to Highway 50 threating containment lines. Wind speeds continue to increase through steep drainages producing gusty and erratic winds. In these areas of the fire, fast moving crown fires are still present. Wind conditions continue to create spotting distances between three quarters of a mile to one mile out. Areas of the fire where winds were limited still saw group torching due to critical fuel conditions and tightly packed canopies. The current red flag warning remains in effect through 11:00 p.m. [PDT] on 9/1/21.

Event Summary #1 | Downloads
Posting Date: August 31, 2021, 1:00:00 PM