On Tuesday, firefighters fought a fierce struggle in strong winds to defend residences on the outskirts of tinder-dry forests near Lake Tahoe from a wildfire that has forced thousands of people to flee the popular vacation region in California's Sierra Nevada range.
On Monday, the Caldor fire, which had been blazing in the mountains east of Sacramento since mid-August, crested a ridgeline and surged downslope toward the southern edge of the Tahoe Valley, which spans the California-Nevada border, causing huge evacuations.
South Lake Tahoe, a community of 22,000 people, and many other communities quickly emptied, leaving the smoke-filled area, which is ordinarily thronged by summer holidaymakers, completely vacant.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, an estimated 50,000 individuals are under evacuation orders as a result of the Caldor fire (Cal Fire).
On Tuesday, two huge spot fires got within 3 miles of South Lake Tahoe's city boundaries and 6 miles of Lake Tahoe's southern shore, according to fire officials.
“Right now, a significant amount of resources are dedicated to protecting the homes and property in South Lake Tahoe,” Dana Walsh, a spokeswoman for the US Forest Service, told Reuters by phone Tuesday evening.
The wind was blowing in such a way that “we're not expecting it to push (the fire) toward the lake this evening,” according to Walsh.
Jeff Hodge, a semi-retired banker who works part-time as a chair-lift operator during the ski season, remembered his feelings of fear and uncertainty in the hours leading up to his evacuation on Monday. His South Lake Tahoe apartment was raided by police who went door-to-door.
“It was really unsettling for an older person,” the 65-year-old said Tuesday at a Red Cross shelter in Truckee, northwest of Tahoe.
Hodge told Reuters that he put a pair of guitars and amplifiers, ski equipment, golf clubs, a hamper full of clothing, and a bottle of bourbon into his 1995 sedan, waited for traffic to clear, and then drove out in the afternoon as ash and soot fell.
Flames Driven by The Wind
The fire had burnt almost 191,000 acres (77,300 hectares) of drought-stricken woodlands by Tuesday, up from 14,000 acres (5,665 hectares) the day before. Only 16 percent of the perimeter had been carved out of containment lines by firefighters.
Winds blowing up to 45 miles per hour carried embers up to a mile beyond the blaze's leading-edge, causing spot fires while hillsides of trees exploded in towering flames.
According to Cal Fire spokesperson Henry Herrera, at least 669 structures were recorded as destroyed on Tuesday, the most of which were single-family homes, with 34,000 more considered threatened.
There have been no deaths reported. In the last few days, three firefighters and two civilians have been hurt.
For days, smoke and soot from the fire have obstructed the normally clear sky over Lake Tahoe, prompting many tourists to leave the region, which is known for its swimming, boating, hiking, and camping. There are also world-class ski resorts in the vicinity.
On Tuesday, approximately 4,000 people had been assigned to the wildfire, which had a squadron of over two dozen water-dropping helicopters. The source of the fire was still being investigated.
Caldor has engulfed more land this year than the Dixie fire, which has burned 771,000 acres (312,000 hectares) farther north in the Sierra.
Both flames are among over two dozen raging across California, as well as hundreds of others around the West, amid what is shaping up to be one of the most catastrophic summer fire seasons on record. Extremely hot, dry weather fuelled the fires, which scientists say are a symptom of climate change.
This season, more than 6,800 wildfires of various sizes have scorched an estimated 1.7 million acres (689,000 hectares) in California alone, pushing existing firefighting resources perilously thin. Cal Fire and the US Forest Service have called the region's destructive fire behavior unparalleled.
The Forest Service has closed all 18 national forests in California to the public until mid-September, an unprecedented move that the agency has only taken once before, during last year's devastating wildfire season. The shutdown will begin at 12 a.m. EST on Tuesday.
On Wednesday night, a National Weather Service red-flag warning for dangerously strong winds and extremely low humidity has been issued for the Tahoe area.
