![]() That threat edged closer to reality Tuesday as wind-driven embers pierced the valley and ignited smaller blazes on the outskirts of town.īefore its run over the mountains at Echo Summit, the fire had already destroyed hundreds of homes where it originated in the Sierra Nevada foothills and churned through tens of thousands of thickly forested acres along the Highway 50 corridor, one of the two main routes between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. The immediate danger is to South Lake Tahoe, the city of 22,000 that straddles the border between California and Nevada. Not far from the fire line, NBCLX Storyteller Chase Cain shows us a house sprayed with fire retardant and we talk about the connection between climate change and wildfires. More than 600 structures have been destroyed, and at least 33,000 more were threatened.The Caldor wildfire is still burning near Sacramento, California. After the weekend's fierce burning, containment dropped from 19% to 16%. The Caldor Fire has scorched nearly 300 square miles since breaking out Aug. She said the gridlock indicated that people were obeying orders to flee. Just a tiny fraction of city residents - 20 people - refused to evacuate, said Lindsey Baker, South Lake Tahoe spokeswoman. Traffic crawled at times Monday on Highway 50, which is the main artery, but had cleared by afternoon. The California Highway Patrol added officers to help guide chaotic traffic out of South Lake Tahoe. Climate change has made the West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive, scientists say. Since then, dead trees have accumulated and the region has coped with serious droughts, Wallace said. The last two wildfires that ripped through populated areas near Tahoe were the Angora Fire that destroyed more than 200 homes in 2007 and the Gondola Fire in 2002 that ignited near a chairlift at Heavenly Mountain Resort. South Lake Tahoe bustles with outdoor activities. The Lake Tahoe area is usually a year-round recreational paradise offering beaches, water sports, hiking, ski resorts and golfing. It prompted new evacuation orders and warnings Monday. The Dixie, the second-largest wildfire in state history at 1,215 square miles, was burning about 65 miles north of the Lake Tahoe-area blaze. Only twice in California history have blazes burned from one side of the Sierra Nevada to the other, both this month, with the Caldor and Dixie fires, Porter said. Crews from Louisiana had to return to that state because of Hurricane Ida, he said. More than 15,000 firefighters were battling dozens of California blazes, including crews from Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia, said Mark Ghilarducci, director of California's Office of Emergency Services. ![]() "We do not take this decision lightly, but this is the best choice for public safety," Regional Forester Jennifer Eberlien said. Forest Service announced Monday that all national forests in California would be closed until Sept. ![]() The threat of fire is so widespread that the U.S. Outside, evacuees who had stayed in tents sorted through ramen noodles and plastic bags of clothes and keepsakes. Additional sites were open at a park in Carson City, the Reno Sparks Convention Center and a rodeo event center in Dayton and Lyon County fairgrounds in Yerington.Īt the senior center in Gardnerville, people had their temperature checked and answered questions about the coronavirus before entering a gymnasium of cots set up by the Red Cross. In all, Harrah's, Harveys Lake Tahoe Casino, the Hard Rock and Montbleu Resort have more than 2,200 hotel rooms.Įvacuation shelters at community centers in Carson City and Douglas County were at capacity, officials said Tuesday. ![]() Hotels are housing evacuees and fire crews. Gambling has been significantly curtailed as staffing is limited due to mandatory evacuations in California, board analyst and spokesman Michael Lawton said. This is extremely serious."Ĭasino regulators were monitoring operations at the four largest gambling properties in Stateline, the Nevada town adjacent to South Lake Tahoe, said Kelly Colvin, audit chief for the Nevada Gaming Control Board. "I'm standing here and I'm getting all ash particulates on my jacket, even," the governor said. He noted that ash was falling on his jacket. Steve Sisolak on Monday declared a state of emergency, citing the high risk that the California fire would burn into his state.Īt a news conference Tuesday in Carson City, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the fire, he said there was no timeline for when evacuations might be ordered. The National Weather Service warned of critical fire weather conditions through Wednesday due to strong gusts, very low humidity and extremely dry fuel.Īs flames advanced toward South Lake Tahoe, residents just over the state line in Nevada faced evacuation warnings.
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