begin quote from:
Caldor Fire leaving scar on Tahoe landscape (Gallery)
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Looking down through the smoke from U.S. Highway 50, it’s astonishing the Caldor Fire did not consume any homes in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
The fire has scorched the landscape in the Christmas Valley and Meyers areas and the charred trees and decimated vegetation will be a reminder for years to come.
The fire is at 215,400 acres and is 43% contained as of Sunday morning and the fight remains active in the Luther Pass and Echo Lake areas.
On Saturday, about a dozen fire vehicles lined California State Route 89 just up the hill from Christmas Valley as crews trudged up the steep, rugged hillside.
Helicopters were supporting firefighting efforts on the ground with water drops as smoke allowed.
Trending Articles
The following is a list of the most commented articles in the last 7 days.
Officials on Sunday morning said they are near containment on the head of the fire that has been stopped short of Heavenly Mountain Resort and has not moved in a few days.
The blaze destroyed hundreds of homes, but Tahoe was like a big red cape and when the raging bull of a fire charged through, firefighters pulled that cape away and the mostly uncontained blaze was left to feast on vegetation and not on homes.
Bill Rozak/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Officials are looking to let residents back in their homes in the coming days.
Mandatory evacuation orders on the Nevada side of the state line were lifted on Saturday, but some areas remained on a warning status. Douglas County authorities urged residents to stay alert, saying the fire still has the potential to threaten homes.
Bill Rozak/Tahoe Daily Tribune
There are no changes to evacuation orders as of Sunday morning for more than 20,000 South Lake Tahoe residents.
When evacuation orders are lifted, Cal Fire has created a checklist to promote a safe return.
Bill Rozak/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Officials said, “repopulation consists of complex coordination between, fire, law enforcement, public works, and utilities to ensure the safety of residents and fire responders alike. We thank you for your patience and we work to get you back home.”
For tips on returning home after wildfire visit: Ready for Wildfire and view returning home video.
Below is the Cal Fire morning report on the East Zone of the fire.
Observations: Strong inversions formed overnight with very poor humidity recoveries only reaching 20 to 30% along the mid-slopes and ridgelines and above 6,600 feet. Good recoveries occurred in the lower valleys. Ridge winds remained variable with downslope terrain driven winds over the rest of the fire area.
Sunday Forecast: Extremely dry air will remain over the fire area on Sunday with above average temperatures continuing through Monday as high pressure remains over the west. Humidity will drop into the low to mid-teens at all elevations again during the day with very poor recoveries on mid-slopes and ridges. Ridge winds will remain variable, keeping smoke over the fire. Surface winds remain terrain driven with upslope winds 4 to 8 mph during the afternoon and gusts up to 15 mph in canyons. A return of southwest winds is expected by Tuesday with ridge wind gusts up to 25 to 30 mph possible.
Firefighters will continue their aggressive direct firefighting tactics and mop up operations in all areas of the fire. Last night, fire behavior was minimal to moderate, and crews held the fire within containment lines.
Bill Rozak/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Bill Rozak/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Bill Rozak/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Bill Rozak/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Wildland firefighting modules will be hiking into the Desolation Wilderness to engage directly with the fire using minimal impact suppression techniques. On the south and southwestern sides of Echo Lake, the fire continues to back down the hillside. Overall, the northern flank of the fire is holding well as firefighters continue their diligent mop up work. To the north, masticators and dozers are working to complete contingency lines along roadways surrounding Fallen Leaf Lake. These contingency lines are backup plans,however, the direct firefighting taking place now is making great progress and holding well.
On the northeastern corner of the fire, direct containment lines are almost tied in below Trimmer Peak, with great progress on mop up. Moving down to Luther Spire, hot spots still exist. Firefighters will continue their direct attack and get assistance from aircraft whenever visibility improves.
There is still much work to be done tying in dozer lines and holding along the south and southeast flank of the fire above Caples Lake. However so far, firefighters are making good progress going direct. Safety concerns for firefighters remain with the potential for rollout of smoldering material and hazardous burning tree snags.
Bill Rozak/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Bill Rozak/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Support Local Journalism
Readers around the Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond make the Tahoe Tribune's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.
User Legend: 
Moderator 
Trusted User
Conversation
All Comments
This just the beginning, beware the next phase, we just had a major wildfire months ago, no one expected what would happen next, rains that were average turned into flashfloods as the scorched earth couldn't absorb it, our fire was 12mi away, but when it rains on the burn scar an hour later a raging torrent comes raging through like a fright train, water black with ash and logs, smelling like a wildfire, affecting a town even 15mi away.
When we're all allowed home, please look at the damage these fire's have caused. The distruction should make you furious at how mismanaged our forest's have been. With more than 5 million acre's in CA alone having already burned this year, you should vote for change. Recalling the current governor, who represents literally the definition of white privilege, would be a good start. He's doing to you what he did to his former best friend's wife. Unfortunately, most will ignore reality & common sense. They'll continue to blame the fires on climate change so politicians can continue to increase taxes. What remains of the middle class and working poor will continue to be forced to live a lower standard of living. This is a direct result of the insane policies of the current President & Congress. Hopefully the left wing ideologues wake up & start voting for sound policy rather than the insane propaganda. EDITED
Not sure why you are blaming Newsom when the Caldor Fire burned on federally managed land. Trump was president the past four years and cut the federal budget for forest management and wildfire prevention. What exactly did he do that you think was “on the right track”?
Luckily the Infrastructure Bill, which should be passed under Biden, includes billions for forest management and wildland firefighting efforts, so hopefully we will see changes in the coming years.
Thank science one term Trump lost and the insane policies of the right have ended. Everyone is voting no for the no call election. It is a disgusting waste of 400 million tax payers dollars. The Republicans should be ashamed.
ADVERTISEMENTIn the words of Dorothy..."There's no place like home". I can't wait to go back, and I feel fortunate beyond belief that all those firefighters gave me the gift of having a place to which I can return. While I extend my heartfelt thanks to all who risked their lives for us, a mere "Thank You" seems awfully inadequate.
Thanks for the pictures! It will help me, and I am sure others, to ease back into what will be a difficult and emotional move back to Tahoe. This is all super sad but I guess we should count our blessings. Thanks again
ACTIVE CONVERSATIONS
The following is a list of the most commented articles in the last 7 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment