Thousands ordered to evacuate as wildfire pushes toward South Lake Tahoe
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Mon, 08/30/2021 - 9:12am
UPDATE 11:28AM: A Final Evacuation Order for South Lake Tahoe has been issued. The order extends through the remainder of the city to the Nevada state line.
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UPDATE 10:39AM: Much of South Lake Tahoe is now under orders to evacuate as of Monday morning. The following areas of South Lake Tahoe are now under orders, per the City of South Lake Tahoe, to immediately leave due to the Caldor Fire:
Tahoe Keys
— All residences with the Tahoe Keys community and all residents accessed from the streets connected to Tahoe Keys Blvd, staying east of 3rd Street.
Tahoe Island
— East of Highway 50/ Highway 89 at the at the Lake Tahoe Blvd and Highway 89 Highway 50 intersection. This includes the area of Barton Hospital and the area of Winnemucca to the “Y.” Also north of Highway 50 west of Tahoe Keys Blvd following along the north side of Highway 89 through the end of town prior to Pope Beach.
Al Tahoe
• All residences off of Lakeview which is west of Highway 50 North of Blue Lakes Road and east of Tahoe Keys Neighborhood.
Sierra Tract
• All residences on both sides of Highway 50 for the streets connected to O’Malley, Lodi, Silver Dollar and Rubicon Trail.
Bijou
• The residences between Al Tahoe on the east side of Johnson Blvd to include the streets of Treehaven and Fremont and extending to the east in to all residences west of Ski Run and east of Pioneer Trail.
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The Caldor Fire in El Dorado County has forced thousands to evacuate as flames pushed northeast into the Lake Tahoe Basin toward the communities of Meyers and South Lake Tahoe.
The fire advanced overnight Sunday in to Monday morning, with ash being blown a half-mile from the main thrust of the fire. An evacuation warning is in place for the Lake Tahoe area stretching from Tahoma, into the South Lake Tahoe city limits up Stateline.
Evacuation orders are for Meyers and Christmas Valley. Evacuation sites have been established at the Douglas County Community Center in Gardnerville and at the Truckee Veterans Hall Truckee. Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe has evacuated, sending its patients to area hospitals.
According to a Cal Fire report Monday morning, humidity recovery remained poor overnight and allowed the fire to continue to actively burn. Fuel conditions remain critical and we still see active crown runs and group torching in the northeastern divisions of the fire.
"Current fire behavior is contributing to ember casts traveling up to half a mile," according to Cal Fire. "We anticipate early morning winds in the northeast area of the fire. Fire weakened trees continue to present a risk for crews. The fire has burned 177,260 acres and was 14 percent contained as of the Monday morning report.
Cal Fire reports the fire has edged down to the river and continued into the Highway 50 corridor. Firefighters contended with weakened and torched trees that blocked roadways and threatened controls. Early morning activity has increased in the northeastern area of the fire due to the increase in ridge top winds.
The region is under a Red Flag Warning.
As of 7 a.m. Monday, all evacuation orders and warnings remain the same as of Monday morning. Go here for the areas, via Cal Fire.
Highway 50 is closed in both directions from the Sly Park Road exit to Meyers (Highway 50 and Highway 89 junction).
• 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
The Numbers
Size: 177,260 acres
Containment: 14%
Civilian Injuries: 2
First Responder Injuries: 3
Structures Threatened: 20,414
Single Residences Threatened: 40,011
Multiple residences Threatened: 931
Businesses Threatened: 520
Structures Damaged: 39
Single Residences Destroyed: 472
Commercial Properties Destroyed: 11
Other Minor Structures Destroyed: 170
Evacuated: 35,011
Estimated incident costs to date: $66,840,432
Personnel on the fire: 3,684
Engines: 353
Water tenders: 76
Helicopters: 25
Handcrews: 79
Dozers: 77
Other: 29
Evacuation Shelters
— Douglas County Community Center, 1329 Waterloo Lane, Gardnerville, NV
— Truckee Veterans Hall, 10214 High Street, Truckee.
We will update as more information becomes available.
