Red Flag Warning and Mandatory Evacuations
The WSJ reports South Lake Tahoe Evacuated as Caldor Fire Spreads.
The Caldor Fire edged closer toward South Lake Tahoe and the Nevada state line, as firefighters fought to protect homes and businesses a day after evacuation orders cleared out the popular California tourist town.
The fire had burned 186,568 acres and was 15% contained as of Monday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
A red-flag warning, indicating hot, dry weather and gusty winds that could accelerate the spread of wildfire, is in effect until Wednesday evening. The conditions are keeping firefighters on alert as embers from the fire have been traveling far distances, passing containment lines and creating spot fires in areas three quarters of a mile to one mile away, according to Cal Fire. Evacuation orders were issued for all of South Lake Tahoe’s 22,000 residents Monday, and city officials said the process was complete in the early evening. They said traffic delays of up to 3½ hours were a sign the orders were widely heeded. With the city emptied, fire officials said they could concentrate on battling the quickly spreading blaze.
Caldor Fire Tweets
Use of Snow Making Equipment
Wildfire Crosses Sierra Nevada
Caldor fire and Dixie fire are the first wildfires in California history to burn from one side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the other.
The LA Times reports the Dixie fire is now the second-largest in state history and still burning out of control. The 190,000-acre Caldor fire is much smaller but now threatens more than 33,000 homes in the Lake Tahoe Basin, an area many residents believed was fairly well protected from fires.
State of Emergency in California and Nevada
Satellite Update
Traffic Jam Gridlock Leaving Tahoe
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Disastrous Urban Conflagration
Wow.
Best wishes to all impacted.
Undeniable Science Addendum
Fire Suppression
Fire suppression leads to the build-up of dead biomass in fire-prone ecosystems which produce very severe fires when they do burn.
Check out ScienceDirect's article on Fire Suppression for the key explanation of what's going on and why.
We have had 100 years of fire suppression. That's where to look first. Then you can debate what lit the match.
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