Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Thousands Rush to Flee South Lake Tahoe as Fire Nears
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
August 30, 2021

Share

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Thousands of people rushed to leave South Lake Tahoe as the entire resort city came under evacuation orders and wildfire raced toward Lake Tahoe, a large freshwater lake straddling California and Nevada.

Evacuation warnings issued for the city of 22,000 on Sunday turned into orders Monday. Vehicles loaded with bikes and camping gear and hauling boats were stuck in traffic, stalled in hazy, brown air that smelled of campfire. Police and other emergency vehicles whizzed by.

“This is a systematic evacuation, one neighborhood at a time,” South Lake Tahoe police Lt. Travis Cabral said on social media. “I am asking you as our community to please remain calm.”

The new orders came a day after communities several miles south of the lake were abruptly ordered evacuated as the Caldor Fire raged nearby.

Residents Prepare for Evacuation as Fire Nears

South Lake Tahoe’s main medical facility, Barton Memorial Hospital, proactively evacuated 36 patients needing skilled nursing and 16 in acute care beds Sunday, sending them to regional facilities far from the fire, public information officer Mindi Befu said. The rest of the hospital was evacuating following Monday’s expanded orders.

The Lake Tahoe area in the Sierra Nevada mountains is a recreational paradise for San Francisco Bay Area locals looking for a weekend getaway, as well as a national destination. The area offers beaches, water sports, hiking, ski resorts and golfing.

South Lake Tahoe, at the lake’s southern end, bustles with outdoor activities, with casinos available in bordering Stateline, Nevada.

South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace prepared to leave with her husband, youngest child, dogs and items given to them from their deceased parent — objects that can’t be replaced.

She thought the Caldor Fire would stay farther away. Fires in the past did not spread so rapidly near the tourist city.

“It’s just yet another example of how wildfires have changed over the years,” she said. “It’s just a culmination of 14 to 18 more years of dead trees, the droughts we’ve had since then, those kinds of things.”

Resort Closes for the Season Due to Wildfires

The region faces a warning from the National Weather Service about critical fire weather Monday and Tuesday.

The fire destroyed multiple homes Sunday along Highway 50, one of the main routes to the lake’s south end. It also roared through the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, demolishing some buildings but leaving the main buildings at the base intact.

Fire churned through mountains just a few miles southwest of the Tahoe Basin, where thick smoke sent visitors packing at a time when summer vacations would usually be in full swing ahead of Labor Day weekend.

There were reports of cabins burned in the unincorporated community of Echo Lake, where Tom Fashinell has operated Echo Chalet with his wife since 1984. The summer-only resort offers cabin rentals, but was ordered to close early for the season by the U.S. Forest Service due to ongoing wildfires.

Fashinell said he was glued to the local TV news. “We’re watching to see whether the building survives,” he said.

Fires Continue to Destroy Communities as Containment Drops

The last major blaze in the area took South Lake Tahoe by surprise after blowing up from an illegal campfire in the summer of 2007. The Angora Fire burned less than 5 square miles but destroyed 254 homes, injured three people and forced 2,000 people to flee.

The Caldor Fire has scorched 277 square miles since breaking out Aug. 14. After the weekend’s fierce burning, containment dropped from 19% to 14%. More than 600 structures have been destroyed, and at least 20,000 more were threatened.

It’s among nearly 90 large blazes in the U.S. Many are in the West, burning trees and brush sucked dry by drought. Climate change has made the region warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists.

In California alone, more than 15,200 firefighters are fighting more than a dozen large fires. Flames have destroyed about 2,000 buildings and forced thousands to evacuate this year while blanketing large swaths of the West in unhealthy smoke.

Department of Defense Sends Help

In Southern California, a section of Interstate 15 closed Sunday after winds pushed a new blaze, the Railroad Fire, across lanes in the Cajon Pass northeast of Los Angeles.

Farther south, evacuation orders and warnings were in place for remote communities after a wildfire ignited and spread quickly through the Cleveland National Forest on Saturday. A firefighter received minor injuries, and two structures were destroyed in the 2.3-square-mile Chaparral Fire burning along the border of San Diego and Riverside counties, according to Cal Fire. It was 13% contained Monday.

Meanwhile, the Dixie Fire, the second-largest in state history at 1,205 square miles, was nearly halfway contained about 65 miles north of the Lake Tahoe-area blaze. Nearly 700 homes were among almost 1,300 buildings that have been destroyed since the Dixie Fire began in early July.

Containment increased to 26% on the French Fire, which covered nearly 40 square miles in the southern Sierra Nevada. Crews protected forest homes on the west side of Lake Isabella, a popular recreation area northeast of Bakersfield.

The U.S. Department of Defense is sending 200 Army soldiers from Washington state to help firefighters in Northern California, the U.S. Army North said in a statement Saturday. Eight Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve C-130 aircraft capable of dropping thousands of gallons of fire retardant also have been sent to fight wildfires in the West.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Augillard, Douglas Lead the Way as Bulldogs Rally Past Long Beach State

DON'T MISS

Israel Strikes Without Warning in Beirut, Kills at Least 15 as Cease-Fire Sought

DON'T MISS

Trump Taps Rollins as Ag Chief in Final Cabinet Pick

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Becomes Bowl Eligible, Defeats Colorado State on Senior Night

DON'T MISS

After Fresno Visit, Newsom Announces $24.7M Taxpayer-Funded Apprenticeship Program

DON'T MISS

How Will Merced County Fund Public Safety After Measure R’s Failure?

DON'T MISS

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

DON'T MISS

Sacramento Region Gained People but Flubbed Economic Opportunities Over 50 Years

DON'T MISS

Nations at UN Climate Talks Agree on $300B a Year for Poor Countries in a Compromise Deal

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s Pick for Labor Secretary

UP NEXT

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

UP NEXT

Listeria Outbreak Tied to Yu Shang Food Leaves California Infant Dead and 10 People Sick

UP NEXT

Northern California Gets Record Rain and Heavy Snow. Many Have Been in the Dark for Days in Seattle

UP NEXT

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

UP NEXT

Major Storm Drops Record Rain, Downs Trees in Northern California After Devastation Further North

UP NEXT

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

Thousands of University of California Workers Go on 2-Day Strike Over Wages, Staff Shortages

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom Pledged to Release His Tax Returns Every Year. The Last One Was for 2020.

UP NEXT

California Governor Will Not Make Clemency Decision for Menendez Brothers Until New DA Reviews Case

Fresno State Becomes Bowl Eligible, Defeats Colorado State on Senior Night

20 hours ago

After Fresno Visit, Newsom Announces $24.7M Taxpayer-Funded Apprenticeship Program

23 hours ago

How Will Merced County Fund Public Safety After Measure R’s Failure?

23 hours ago

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

1 day ago

Sacramento Region Gained People but Flubbed Economic Opportunities Over 50 Years

1 day ago

Nations at UN Climate Talks Agree on $300B a Year for Poor Countries in a Compromise Deal

2 days ago

What to Know About Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s Pick for Labor Secretary

2 days ago

What to Know About Scott Turner, Trump’s Pick for Housing Secretary

2 days ago

Trump Taps Investor Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary

2 days ago

NATO Head and Trump Meet in Florida for Talks on Global Security

2 days ago

Augillard, Douglas Lead the Way as Bulldogs Rally Past Long Beach State

LONG BEACH — Amar Augillard led Fresno State with 25 points and David Douglas Jr. made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 42 seconds left as the Bull...

20 hours ago

20 hours ago

Augillard, Douglas Lead the Way as Bulldogs Rally Past Long Beach State

20 hours ago

Israel Strikes Without Warning in Beirut, Kills at Least 15 as Cease-Fire Sought

20 hours ago

Trump Taps Rollins as Ag Chief in Final Cabinet Pick

20 hours ago

Fresno State Becomes Bowl Eligible, Defeats Colorado State on Senior Night

23 hours ago

After Fresno Visit, Newsom Announces $24.7M Taxpayer-Funded Apprenticeship Program

23 hours ago

How Will Merced County Fund Public Safety After Measure R’s Failure?

1 day ago

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

1 day ago

Sacramento Region Gained People but Flubbed Economic Opportunities Over 50 Years

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend