Caldor Fire is ‘knocking on the door’ to Tahoe Basin and has become the nation’s No. 1 priority for firefighting resources, said Chief Thom Porter, director of CAL FIRE.
The following written content by Brett McGinness
The Caldor Fire has expanded to 107,704 acres with 9% containment as of Tuesday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
The fire, just 9% contained, has become the nation’s No. 1 priority for firefighting resources, said Chief Thom Porter, director of CAL FIRE.
“It is knocking on the door to the Lake Tahoe basin,” Porter said. “We have all efforts in place to keep it out of the basin but we do need to also be aware that is a possibility based on the way the fires have been burning.”
Porter said he personally did not believe the fire would get into the basin but that he could be proved wrong.
New estimates show the fire has destroyed 455 single residences and 11 commercial properties, as well as 166 minor structures. A additional 17,488 structures are threatened.
Highway 50 remains closed between South Lake Tahoe and Placerville with no planned date for reopening.
CAL FIRE reported moderate activity overnight Monday and into Tuesday, with a decrease in southwest winds and moderate overnight humidity.
“We know this fire has done things that nobody could have predicted, but that’s how firefighting has been in the state this year,” Eldorado National Forest Supervisor Chief Jeff Marsolais told the Associated Press on Sunday.
More than 2,100 personnel are working to put out the fire, which has been burning since Saturday, Aug. 14.
Evacuations have been ordered in Amador and El Dorado counties in California, and nine National Forests have been closed temporarily. See full list of evacuation orders, warnings and closures at the end of this story. Read more from Reno Gazette Journal.
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