Caldor’s fire threatens Lake Tahoe

A wildfire in California that would once have been considered unprecedented has once again exposed the ravages of climate change, this time threatening idyllic Lake Tahoe.

Aided by high winds, the Caldor Fire, which burned 177,000 acres and destroyed more than 650 structures, traversed the Sierra Nevada mountain range, putting much of the southern basin of Lake Tahoe under warning. ‘evacuation. Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter said the blaze had grown to more than 20,000 acres on Sunday alone – the strongest growth seen in Hell since it began on August 14. Overnight, the fire swept through the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, where workers used a snow cannon. machines to keep flames away.

On Monday morning, the entire city of South Lake Tahoe and residents of areas along the southern and southwestern shores of Tahoma on the Nevada border were ordered to leave their homes immediately. With roads to the west, north and south closed due to the fire, evacuees flocked east into Nevada, finding themselves stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic as hot spots were emerging in the slopes above.

Hours later, once the traffic jam was over, point fires continued to burn near Kirkwood Ski Resort to the south and in Meyers, a town a few miles from South Lake Tahoe further north, showing the risk that the fire can continue to spread in the communities. Firefighters took a moment to make it clear that while it seemed unlikely a few weeks ago that the blaze would plunge into the basin that so many Californians hold dear, this is the new normal.

“Historically, we’ve used terms like anomaly, unprecedented, or extreme to describe the wildfires we’ve seen burning across the state over the past 10-20 years,” said Chris Anthony of Cal Fire. during a press briefing. “These terms are no longer appropriate given the clear trends associated with drought, climate change and unresilient forest stands. Unfortunately, these factors are contributing to the resistance to control we see with the Caldor fire.”

Until now, California has never seen fires burning across the Sierras, said Porter, Cal’s fire chief. Then, just two weeks ago, the Dixie Fire, which burned more than 770,000 acres and is currently the second largest fire on record in the state, swept through the mountains. Now, with the Caldor fire coming down from the mountains to South Lake Tahoe, it has happened again.

“Twice in our history and they happen both this month,” Porter said in a briefing Monday. “We have to be really aware that there are fires in California that we have never seen before.”

The Caldor Fire, which broke out near the now razed town of Grizzly Flats about 80 miles east of Sacramento, had been approaching the Tahoe area for days. Locals and officials hoped the Desolation Wilderness area with its mountainous landscape and bare granite would prevent hell from encroaching on the heavily populated – and more densely vegetated – valley below. But strong winds helped push the flames over the summit and carry embers over the rocky terrain and into the basin.

On Monday evening, the fire had spread to the Christmas Valley and Meyers area, a few miles south of the town of South Lake Tahoe. No structures have yet been damaged, firefighters said.

“What seemed extremely unlikely a few weeks ago is happening,” Daniel Swain, climatologist at UCLA and Nature Conservancy, told BuzzFeed News.

Forest fires are inextricably linked to human-induced climate change. The planet has already warmed 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, according to NASA, and that’s making catastrophes worse. In 2020, wildfires burned more than 10 million acres, including more than 4.2 million acres in California – the largest fire season on record in the state.

Swain said climate change has allowed the fires “to get out of control” even in milder weather conditions and to spread more quickly “due to the dryness of the underlying vegetation.”

A red flag warning is in effect for the northern Sierras until 11 p.m. Wednesday, with southwest winds forecast to reach 20 to 35 mph. On Monday, the US Forest Service announced that it close the 20 million acres of national forests in the state until Sept. 17 due to the “wildfire crisis”.

While it was difficult for officials to predict how the blaze might progress as dangerous conditions persist, Anthony said local, state and federal agencies have spent years – and millions of dollars – preparing for the this scenario. He added that they would do everything possible to protect communities in the Tahoe Basin, an area he said many, including himself, consider “a natural wonder of the world.”

“These are definitely tough times, but we will overcome them together,” he said.