![]() ![]() Dozens of miles, rocky outcrops and mountain lakes stood between Tahoe and the fire. So, when the Caldor Fire first started more than 40 miles (64 kilometers) away, on the other side of the Sierra, he wasn’t nervous. As trails director for the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association, he knows well what sections of the forest are filled with dense underbrush that could burn quickly.īut his fear revolved around a fire starting in the Tahoe Basin. Over the years, Parsel worried the forest could ignite. Caldor changed the way he views his home. Parsel finds that beauty in the hundreds of miles of running and mountain biking trails right outside his door.īut the fire that burned into the Tahoe Basin left some of his favorite recreation areas forever altered. ![]() North America’s largest alpine lake was described by author Mark Twain as “the fairest picture the whole earth affords.” ![]() Patrick Parsel lives in South Lake Tahoe for the same reason so many others do – the area’s beauty and its ease of access to recreation. Noticeable damage to Lake Tahoe’s famed clear waters has already been observed due to falling ash the Caldor Fire spewed into the air.īeyond the tangible loss of structures, natural resources and beauty at Tahoe, Caldor led to the loss of something intangible: A sense of security for many of the thousands of residents who call the Tahoe Basin home. But hundreds of acres of ski runs are now freckled with charred trees. The main buildings at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, one of the closest ski resorts to the Bay Area and Sacramento, were saved. Other stretches were harmed in the fighting of the fire, as dozers cleared contingency lines. Near Echo Summit, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) of the Pacific Crest Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail and other singletrack trails were directly damaged by the fire. While the devastation is clear, the damage is still being measured. It crested the Sierra Nevada, burning from the western slope onto the eastern slope, forever changing what officials and residents know about predicted wildfire patterns. And the Caldor did something only one fire - the 1,500-square-mile (3,900-square-kilometer) Dixie Fire - had ever done. Nearly 32,000 structures were threatened, 81 were damaged and almost 800 were destroyed. The fire forced roughly 50,000 people on the Highway 50 corridor and in the Lake Tahoe Basin to evacuate. In just a few weeks, Caldor scorched more than 345 square miles (894 square kilometers), an area larger than New York City, as it traveled more than 40 miles (64 kilometers) toward Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America. 14, the Caldor Fire started near Pollock Pines, midway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. local time Monday.Side by side they form part of the Sierra Crest, a natural wildfire barrier that separates the western slope from the eastern slope.Įcho Summit and the Desolation Wilderness should have helped block the fire from encroaching on and threatening the lives and homes of the thousands of people living and recreating in the Tahoe Basin, which straddles the Sierra.īut on Aug. Roads were briefly closed, and fire officials carried out some evacuations before the blaze was nearly 90% contained by 6:30 p.m. In Amador County, near where the long-burning Caldor Fire is, the Lawrence Fire, that started Sunday, engulfed 46 acres by Monday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, reported. Over the weekend, at least three other fires started. Images and videos shared on Twitter show firefighters battling smoke and flames on glowing hillsides along the side of the road. Fire engines and emergency personnel gathered in the Healdsburg area and responded quickly to as many as 15 new blazes, McGuire told the San Francisco Chronicle.įirefighters were able to stop most of the forward progress on multiple fires in the area overnight, he said. local time that several "suspicious" fires started over the course of the evening. Officials warned residents in Sonoma County to remain vigilant after more than a dozen fires erupted late Monday. Firefighters from the Cosumnes Fire Department carry water hoses last week while holding a fire line to keep the Caldor Fire from spreading in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.Īs California battles wildfires throughout the state, a new crop of suspicious fires that erupted over Labor Day weekend added to an already busy wildfire season. ![]()
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