Firefighters in the Sierra Nevada continue to battle the Caldor Fire Friday. Their efforts are hampered by gusty winds and dry conditions.
On Friday, flames churned through mountains just southwest of the Tahoe Basin. In even worse news for firefighters, winds and temperatures are expected to pick up, and the humidity is expected to drop over the next several days. That would almost certainly add to the challenges endured by crews working in rugged terrain.
“That’s what’s closing the window of opportunity we’ve had to make progress and really get hold of the fire,” said Daniel Berlant, Assistant Deputy Director of the state firefighting agency.
An evacuation order issued Thursday spanned from Twin Bridges to Echo Summit, a mountain pass where U.S. Route 50 begins its descent toward Lake Tahoe. That’s where firefighters plan to make their stand if the Caldor Fire keeps burning.
“Everything’s holding real good along Highway 50,” said Cal Fire Operations Section Chief Cody Bogan. “The fire has been backing down real slowly,” he added, “We’ve just been allowing it to do it on its own speed. It’s working in our favor.”
The Caldor Fire has been the nation’s top firefighting priority because this time a year Lake Tahoe host many vacationers.
“This is the week before Labor Day weekend — a busy weekend, normally,” South Lake Tahoe City Manager Joe Irvin said. “That is not going to be the case this year.”
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are currently 88 actives fires across the country. They have scorched more than 2.4 million acres of land combined.
12 of the 88 active fires are in California. The largest fire in the state, the Dixie Fire, has burned more than 750,000 acres and is still less than half contained, despite the fact it has been burning for a month and a half.
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