Caldor Fire Update - Saturday, August 28

CALDOR FIRE UPDATE

Smoke from the Caldor Fire hangs over Lake Tahoe.

Dear friends,

We're reaching out once more to provide a few updates on the Caldor Fire along with some informational links.

The Caldor Fire continues to advance toward the Lake Tahoe Basin. The fire's eastern flank is now about 10 miles from where Highway 50 crosses Echo Summit. Evacuation orders and warnings have been expanded. Although no areas within the Tahoe Basin itself are currently under a mandatory evacuation order, Christmas Valley is in an evacuation warning zone as of Thursday morning.

Most of the Basin continues to experience hazardous air quality, and nearly all public lands are closed through Labor Day. Visitors authorities are recommending that travelers postpone their visits. Frankly, Tahoe is not a very nice place to be at the moment.

CALFIRE has compiled the most useful links to current Caldor Fire information. If there's one link you click and share, make it this one.

Crucial Caldor Fire Information

ACRES BURNED & CONTAINMENT

As of 7:00 am today (Saturday, August 28), the Caldor Fire has burned just under 150,000 acres and is 19% contained. 3,300 personnel are working the fire, along with engines, dozers, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Visit Inciweb and CALFIRE's incident page for detailed fire information.

EVACUATIONS

As of this morning, there is no active fire nor mandatory evacuations inside the Lake Tahoe Basin. However, mandatory evacuations on the fire's eastern flank extend up to Echo Summit and north along the western rim of the Tahoe Basin. Christmas Valley south of Meyers is under an evacuation warning.

For current evacuation areas, both those under mandatory evacuation orders and those in warning zones, please see this map from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. Click here for a list of active evacuation shelters and animal evacuation centers.

Use this helpful wildfire evacuation checklist to prepare your family and your property. Other useful fire preparedness tips are available at TahoeLivingWithFire.com.

Take the initiative to sign up for emergency alerts. Those who often travel around Lake Tahoe are advised to sign up for all four counties.

ROAD CLOSURES

Highway 50 is closed in both directions from Pollock Pines to Meyers. There is no timeline for when the road will reopen. Roads within the mandatory evacuation area are also closed. Check CAL FIRE's incident page for road closure updates. The Caltrans QuickMap is also a useful resource.

NATIONAL FOREST CLOSURES

Due to extreme fire conditions across Northern California, numerous national forests are closed through at least Labor Day, September 6. Read the Forest Order here.

Lake Tahoe Basin Mgmt. Unit
Tahoe National Forest
Modoc National Forest
CA lands within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (info)

Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Lassen National Forest
Six Rivers National Forest
Mendocino National Forest
Plumas National Forest
Klamath National Forest

In addition, the Eldorado National Forest is closed through September 30. You can find more information at this U.S. Forest Service webpage.

Within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, the following backcountry areas are closed through September 19 under this Forest Order:

Desolation Wilderness
Meiss Backcountry
Barker Pass Road and Blackwood Creek
Pacific Crest Trail/Tahoe Rim Trail along Tahoe’s west shore

STATE PARK CLOSURES

The closure of Nevada State Parks within the Tahoe Basin has been extended through Monday, September 6. See the Nevada State Parks website for updates. The following areas are currently closed:

Sand Harbor
Spooner Lake
Spooner Backcountry (including Marlette/Hobart Backcountry)
Cave Rock
Van Sickle

The following California State Parks within the Tahoe Basin continue to be fully closed (camping and day use) until further notice. Read more at the California State Parks incident webpage.

D.L. Bliss State Park
Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Park
Emerald Bay State Park

SMOKE & AIR QUALITY

Smoke, ashfall and hazardous air quality continue to impact much of the Tahoe Basin. Look up the air quality index at a specific location using this online tool. Also, see Tahoe's smoke forecast using this interactive map provided by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Daily smoke forecasts are provided by CALFIRE; the most recent smoke forecast is available here.

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW

CAL FIRE Twitter: @CALFIREAEU
El Dorado County Sheriff’s Facebook: El Dorado Sheriff
El Dorado County Sheriff’s Twitter: @ElDoradoSheriff
El Dorado County’s Facebook: El Dorado County, CA - Government
El Dorado County’s Twitter: @CountyElDorado
Eldorado National Forest Twitter: @EldoradoNF

LIVE FIRE CAMERAS

Watch livestreaming video from fire cameras in the Greater Tahoe region.

The video is provided by ALERTWildfire: a consortium of the University of Nevada, Reno; University of California, San Diego; and the University of Oregon, providing fire cameras and tools to aid firefighters and first responders.

NIGHTLY MEETINGS & BRIEFINGS

CALFIRE hosts public briefings each evening at 5pm with translations in Spanish and ASL. They can be viewed live via Facebook or Zoom.

Facebook Live
Zoom (Password: 868884)

In the event CALFIRE's Zoom account is hacked (as has happened recently), please visit their Facebook page.

Please check the links above to stay up to date on the Caldor Fire. If you're planning to come to the Tahoe Basin, please consider postponing your trip until conditions are safer for you and first responders.

Stay vigilant and stay safe, everyone.

Share this eNewsletter.

League to Save Lake Tahoe | 530.541.5388 | keeptahoeblue.org