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New Caldor Fire evacuations orders, warnings go up as wildfire pushes toward South Lake Tahoe; containment drops to 13 percent

UPDATE 10PM: South Lake Tahoe from Tahoma to Stateline has been issued an evacuation warning as of 9:20 p.m. Sunday. See the latest from the City of South Lake Tahoe here.

An evacuation warning is defined as a potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate and those with pets and livestock should leave now.

Evacuation Order:
El Dorado County
Desolation Wilderness from the watershed ridge to the CA ENF/CA TMU wilderness boundary.
From the El Dorado/Placer county line to Echo Lakes.
Alpine County
Highway 89 south, from Luther Pass Road to the Pickets Junction (Highway 88). West on Highway 88 to Kirkwood. South to include Kirkwood Ski Resort and Caples Lake.

Evacuation Warning:
El Dorado County
The remaining area of the Lake Tahoe Basin. From the Alpine/El Dorado county line, north along the California/Nevada state line to Lake Tahoe. North along the waters edge to the El Dorado/Placer county line. West along the El Dorado/Placer county line to McKinney Lake.

Alpine County
Highway 88 at Forestdale Road. West of Forestdale Road and south to the Pacific Crest Trail Crossing. West of the Pacific Crest Trail to the Summit City Canyon Trail. West of Summit City Canyon Trail and south to the El Dorado / Stanislaus National Forest Line. El Dorado / Stanislaus National Forest Line west to the Alpine and Amador County line.
South of Armstrong Summit to Woodfords to Forestdale Road, north of Highway 88 and Highway 89 to Armstrong Summit.

Evacuation Shelter:
Nevada
• A Red Cross Shelter is open for those evacuating from the area at the Douglas County Community Center, 1329 Waterloo Lane, Gardnerville.

NOTES:
Please go to: www.tinyurl.com/EDSOEVAC for an online evacuation map. All previous evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect.

A mandatory evacuation order is defined as an immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to leave now. The area is lawfully closed to public access.
***
UPDATE 8:40PM: Five thousand more people were evacuated Sunday after the Caldor Fire made a run for the ridges to the east. It has burned 168,387 acres and containment dropped to 13 percent due to the increase in fire's size at the east/northeast end.

Evacuation orders were issued for Christmas Valley and parts of the South Shore, with warnings extending to Emerald Bay. According to Cal Fire, the fire made a "significant run" to the east and northeast" sides Sunday with extreme fire behavior observed.

Sunday saw a significant increase in dynamic fire behavior resulting in rapid fire spread. Critical fuel conditions and the alignment of up-slope canyon winds increased extreme fire behavior in the early morning. The afternoon wind speeds produced spotting distances from 3/4 to one mile. Active crown fires and group torching was present in multiple areas of the fire, presenting challenging conditions for crews.

"The impact on Lake Tahoe Basin is now more likely along with the corresponding social, political, economic concerns. Additional resource needs are critical to the defense of lives, property and critical infrastructure," said Calf Fire in its nightly Incident Status Summary.

***
New evacuation orders and warnings were announced Sunday afternoon as the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County, Calif., pushed its way east toward the Lake Tahoe Basin, according to Cal Fire.

As of 7 p.m. Sunday the fire had not reached the Lake Tahoe Basin but precautions are being made. Go here for the live fire cams from alertwildfire.org

Evacuation orders were announced for the following areas in El Dorado County:
— Christmas Valley from Highway 89 West to Echo Summit

— Highway 89 due West to Watershed Ridge/Echo Summit and South to the Amador/El Dorado County line.

— The area from Luther Pass Road, north along the El Dorado/Alpine County line to Armstrong Pass. West from Armstrong Pass to Upper Apache at Meyers. West on Upper Apache to Highway 50. West on Highway 50 to Highway 89. South on Highway 89 to the El Dorado/Alpine County line. This includes all homes on both sides of Highway 89.

— The area from Upper Apache at Meyers, north along Highway 50, to Elks Club Drive. East on Elks Club Drive to Pioneer Trail, extending due south to Upper Apache at Meyers. (This includes all homes off of Oneidas, Mandan, Apache, Ottawa and Player).

—The area North on Highway 50 from Highway 89 to Saw Mill Road. West on Saw Mill Road to Angora Ridge, extending to the Echo Summit.

Alpine County
— Highway 89 South from Luther Pass Road to Pickets Junction (Highway 88)

— West on Highway 88 to Kirkwood

Evacuation Warnings were announced for the following areas:
El Dorado County
— The area from Sawmill Road at Lake Tahoe Boulevard extending north to Pope Beach. Along the water’s edge to Eagle Point. From Eagle Point west, to Desolation Wilderness, across Emerald Bay.

Road Closures:
• The Highway 50 closure has been extended East to Sawmill Road
• Highway 50 at Sawmill
• Pioneer Trail at Elks Club
• Elks Club at Highway 50
• Highway 89 at Highway 88 junction
• Fallen Leaf at Tahoe Mountain

Evacuation Routes:
El Dorado County
• Residents evacuating the area should use Highway 50 East or Highway 89 North.

Alpine County
• West on Highway 88 to Northbound 89 to Eastbound Highway 50

Evacuation Warning:
El Dorado County
• The area from Sawmill Road at Lake Tahoe Blvd. extending north to Pope Beach. Along the water’s edge to Eagle Point. From Eagle Point west, to Desolation Wilderness, across Emerald Bay.

Evacuation Shelter:
Nevada
• A Red Cross Shelter is open for those evacuating from the area at the Douglas County Community Center, 1329 Waterloo Lane, Gardnerville.

Please go to: www.tinyurl.com/EDSOEVAC for an online evacuation map.

We will update as more information becomes available.

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UPDATE 3:25PM Thursday: Tours this weekend and June 5 for the historic Nevada State Prison in Carson City are now filled and sold out. More tours will be announced at a later date at the website here.
***
Be one of the first to go to prison. Not for anything you might have done, but for the history. The storied Nevada State Prison in Carson City will be open for public tours this weekend.

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