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'Heading in the right direction': Caldor Fire's growth slows, some evacuations downgraded
Firefighters battling the Caldor Fire in the Tahoe area expressed continued optimism on Friday due to improved weather conditions and more evacuation orders were downgraded on the western side of the fire.
Here's where evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings Friday afternoon:
- The area described as South of Pleasant Valley between Bucks Bar Road and Newtown Road, East of Bucks Bar Road to Mt. Aukum Road. This includes the area of Gopher Hole Road and Moonshadow.
- The area described as South of US Highway 50, North of Starkes Grade Road, East of Snows Road and West of Fresh Pond.
The Caldor Fire, now the state's 15th largest blaze, remained only a few miles from the city of South Lake Tahoe, which was emptied of 22,000 residents days ago, along with casinos and shops across the state line in Nevada. But no significant fire activity occurred since Thursday, officials said.
Tim Ernst, an operations section chief, said fire officials were "cautiously optimistic" thanks to “a lot of hard work” by firefighters over the past two weeks.
The nearly 333-square-mile fire was not making any significant advances and was not challenging containment lines in long sections of its perimeter, but Ernst said “the risk is still out there” with some areas that remained hot.
Crews were restoring utility services, knocking down hazardous trees and putting out smoldering hot spots to prepare certain areas for repopulation, but the timeline for allowing residents back to their home remains unclear, said Capt. Parker Wilbourn, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
“At this point, we don’t know. We’re doing everything we can to mop up the fire and clean up areas that need to be cleaned up,” Wilbourn said.
Dean Gould, a supervisor with the U.S. Forest Service, said the fire's growth over the past day, 2,350 acres, was the fourth straight day of declines in the growth rate. The last time it grew that small was 14 days ago, he said.
“Things are clearly heading in the right direction for us,” he said.
He went on to paraphrase a Winston Churchill quotation about World War II, saying, “This isn’t the end. It’s not the beginning of the end. It’s the end of the beginning.”
| VIDEO BELOW | US Forest Service Official on Caldor Fire: 'It's the end of the beginning'
The number of residents in temporary shelters from Thursday to Friday went down by 250, Gould said. The total number of residents in an evacuation status went down by 5,500.
Amid the positive outlook, incident meteorologist Jim Dudley warned that the air mass in the Sierra Nevada drains downslope every night and then sloshes upslope during the day and that the region's terrain of ridges and deep canyons can create winds that go in “squirrely directions.”
“Just because we don’t have red flag wind conditions across the fire, the wind threat is still there and it’s all localized,” he warned.
The fire - which began Aug. 14, was named after the road where it started and raged through densely forested, craggy areas - was still considered a threat to more than 30,000 homes, businesses and other buildings ranging from cabins to ski resorts.
Residents who were forced to flee South Lake Tahoe earlier this week remained evacuated along with people across the state line in Douglas County, Nevada.
The resort area can easily accommodate 100,000 people on a busy weekend but was eerily empty just before the Labor Day weekend.
The wildfire dealt a major blow to an economy that heavily depends on tourism and was starting to rebound this summer from pandemic shutdowns.
“It's a big hit for our local businesses and the workers who rely on a steady income to pay rent and put food on their table,” said Devin Middlebrook, mayor pro-tem of South Lake Tahoe.
He said the shutdown will also hurt the city, as it gets most of its revenue to pay for police and fire services, as well as road maintenance, from hotel taxes and sales taxes.
Friday's forecast called for lighter winds but also extremely dry daytime weather, with a warming trend through the weekend as high pressure builds over the West, fire officials said.
Acreage, containment and structure outlook
The Caldor Fire, which ignited Aug. 14 near Little Mountain between Omo Ranch and Grizzly Flats, has burned at least 212,907 acres and containment stands at 29% as of Friday, Cal Fire said in its morning update. Click here to see a map showing the fire's progression.
| VIDEO BELOW| LiveCopter 3 footage on Sept. 3 shows Grizzly Flats damage from Caldor Fire
As of Friday morning, Cal Fire said 661 homes and 12 commercial properties had been confirmed destroyed. The fire also damaged fiber lines.
Cal Fire noted, however, that damage inspection is in progress. Approximately 65% of structures had been inspected as of Thursday, the agency said.
Roughly 32,000 structures remain threatened, and evacuation orders are in place for tens of thousands of people.
Despite how close flames got to the communities of Meyers and Echo Summit, firefighters were able to protect structures from being burned down.
At Heavenly Ski Resort, snow blowers were used to increase humidity in the air. Kirkwood Mountain Resort has also been using snow-making equipment at its lifts in the event that fire makes it to the ski resort.
Latest evacuation updates
Evacuation orders in Douglas County, Nevada were lifted for the Round Hill region and roads including Lower Elks Point, Cal Fire said Thursday evening.
Earlier, some evacuation warnings were lifted and some orders were downgraded to warnings.
With evacuation warnings, people are not required to leave the area, but it is recommended in case fire activity flares up. Officials say anybody who returns to that area who feels unsafe should call 911 immediately.
App users, click here to see a map of active evacuation orders
Road closures
- Highway 88 is closed between Peddlers Ridge and the Highway 88/89
interchange. - Highway 50 is closed in both directions from the Sly Park Road exit to the
California/Nevada state line - Highway 89 at the Placer County/El Dorado County line in Tahoma
Click here for more information on highway closures
Shelter information
- Shelter: Green Valley Community Church, 3500 Missouri Flat Road, Placerville, CA
- Shelter: Cameron Park CSD, 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park, CA
- Shelter: Rolling Hills Church, 800 White Rock Road, El Dorado Hills, CA
- Temporary evacuation point: Italian Picnic Grounds in Sutter Creek, 581 Hwy 49 Sutter Creek, CA 95685
- Shelter: Truckee Veterans Hall, 10214 High Street Truckee, CA 96161
- Shelter: Douglas County Community & Senior Center (Douglas Co. residents only), 1329 Waterloo Lane, Gardnerville, NV
- Shelter: Reno Sparks Convention Center, 4590 South Virginia Street, Reno, NV
- RV Dry Camping and Large Animals: Dayton Event Center/Rodeo Grounds, 500 Schaad Lane, Dayton, NV; Lyon County Fair Grounds 100 95A East Yerington, NV
Animal evacuation information
- El Dorado County Animal Services (small animals): 6435 Capitol Ave., Diamond Springs, CA. For animal evacuation questions or assistance, call 530-621-5795.
- Saureel Vineyards (large animals): 1140 Cold Springs Road, Placerville, CA. Call 530-621-5795 for more info. (This is full)
- Amador County Fairgrounds (large animals): 18621 Sherwood Street, Plymouth, CA
In Nevada:
- Reno Sparks Convention Center, 4590 South Virginia Street, Reno, NV
- Lyon County Fair Grounds – Dry Camp Only, 100 95A East, Yerington, NV
- Dayton Event Center/Rodeo Grounds – Dry Camping Only, 500 Schaad Lane, Dayton, NV
- Douglas County Fairgrounds, 920 Pinenut Road, Gardnerville, NV
Caldor Fire structure damage map
El Dorado County officials launched a structure damage map so residents can see the status of their homes.
The map is updated daily at 9 a.m.
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