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Fire headed to Tahoe

DaveC

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The Caldor fire is getting out of control. It is headed straight for Lake Tahoe. I estimate it is roughly 20 miles away from the Lake and moving fast

It has moved quite fast in the last 24 hours and has gotten out of control. It has passed Sierra at Tahoe and will reach Echo Summit probably soon.

That is the the summit on Highway 50 that overlooks South Lake Tahoe. It is all downhill from there towards the lake.

At this point there is nothing stopping the fire from getting into the Tahoe basin. Tahoe basin has been ordered to evacuate.

I hope this does not get worse before it gets better.
8BA7132B-BC5A-4234-8E97-5F1C8858FF15.png
 
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GRADS

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The Caldor fire is getting out of control. It is headed straight for Lake Tahoe. I estimate it is roughly 20 miles away from the Lake and moving fast

It has moved quite fast in the last 24 hours And has gotten out of control. It has passed Sierra at Tahoe and will reach Echo Summit probably soon.

That is the the summit on 50 that overlooks South Lake Tahoe. It is all downhill from there towards the lake.

At this point there is nothing stopping the fire from getting into the Tahoe basin. Tahoe basin has been ordered to evacuate.

I hope this does not get worse before it gets better. View attachment 1043809
The DC-10's have been flying over our house all day. They are trying to hit it hard before the winds pick up tomorrow afternoon. A friend that lives at the "Y" posted a picture of the huge embers that are falling at his house. This is very scary for SLT.
 

DaveC

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Our family has a home in the foothills and the fire side swiped the neighborhood and barely missed the house. It’s not out of the woods yet but at least it is still there thanks to the fire department
 

yz450mm

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I wouldn't be too concerned, fire burns really great uphill under ideal conditions but downhill is it's nemesis. It can definitely creep downhill in the duff, but it's not going to be a crown fire that will take out structures unless there is some crazy wind event the pushes it.



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GRADS

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I wouldn't be too concerned, fire burns really great uphill under ideal conditions but downhill is it's nemesis. It can definitely creep downhill in the duff, but it's not going to be a crown fire that will take out structures unless there is some crazy wind event the pushes it.



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It's not as much the fire itself as it is the embers from the fire hitting a very dry area.
 

DaveC

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I understand the winds have been driving it. It has been blowing the embers in front of the main fire and starting spot fires ahead of the fire.

it moved far today and broke containment.

I just saw they posted a red flag warning for tomorrow afternoon in Tahoe.

I think we should all pray for those poor people
 

yz450mm

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It's not as much the fire itself as it is the embers from the fire hitting a very dry area.
Yeah thanks, I'm pretty aware of that. But if people that live in the wildland-urban interface have done proper clearancing, then they have nothing to worry about. An active fire can only spot so far, and I'm sure that Lake Tahoe has lots of strike teams in place for structure protection if that happens.

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GRADS

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Yeah thanks, I'm pretty aware of that. But if people that live in the wildland-urban interface have done proper clearancing, then they have nothing to worry about. An active fire can only spot so far, and I'm sure that Lake Tahoe has lots of strike teams in place for structure protection if that happens.

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You obviously don't know the area.
 

yz450mm

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You obviously don't know the area.
Actually I do, been there many times. Also spent a lot of time on fires in the area. Unless the red flag event tomorrow actually produces a northeasterly wind that drives that fire into the valley, I think they will be just fine. I guarantee you that the incident management team is watching the weather and ready to start retardent drops at dawn based on the weather.

But again, it would take a hell of a wind event to push the fire into the crown and then down into the valley.

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DaveC

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The red flag warning does not look good. 2 days of high winds predicted from the southwest



...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM MONDAY TO 11 PM
PDT TUESDAY FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR THE EASTERN
SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA...

* Changes...None.

* Affected Area...Fire Zone 272 Greater Lake Tahoe and Truckee
Area, Fire Zone 421 Southern Sierra Front including Alpine,
Northern Mono, Southern Lyon and and Western Mineral Counties.

* Winds...Southwest 15 to 20 mph with gusts to around 35 mph.
Higher gusts possible in wind prone areas and along exposed
terrain. Ridgetop winds may gust over 50 mph, even during the
overnight period.
 

Rev Limiter

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My sister evacuated Thursday anticipating not going home maybe ever. Her husband just left their house in Meyers at 6pm. We grew up in Meyers. This escalated relatively quickly as they thought they had good days Fri and Sat. This was our worst fear growing up. Yes you do the best you can to clean up around your house but when a wall of flames comes through there is not much that can be done. Super sad and prayers for all my friends still there.
 

Tooms22

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Looks like some communications protection going on

www.alertwildfire.org_tahoe_index.html_camera=Axis-Leek&v=fd40740.png
 

Willie B

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… just talked to a friend in Chico and he told me that he saw on television it was either a family friend or a relative… He saw their house burning and I asked him if it was on the South Shore or the North Shore and… I can’t remember what he said !??…
 

Rev Limiter

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Not coming up for me right now but been watching that one for a week. Woke up this morning at 5am and could not believe the flames were well out of the upper sugar and spice frame and blowing up on the next. It is interesting how the fire moved. Started as a glow on sugar and spice cam and now full on flaming hills and trees.
The Sierra At Tahoe cam was super wild earlier and is still pretty crazy. Looks almost like day time.
 

Rev Limiter

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… just talked to a friend in Chico and he told me that he saw on television it was either a family friend or a relative… He saw their house burning and I asked him if it was on the South Shore or the North Shore and… I can’t remember what he said !??…
There are a lot of homes on the ridge that the fire is active on. Not looking good at all for them. Used to be just summer cabins but the last 20 years more and more full timers up on Echo.
 

rivermobster

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Terrible year for fires. Such a beautiful aera.

@OCMerrill

Where is the Rincon Trail in relation to this disaster? Close I'm thinking??
 

4Waters

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Actually I do, been there many times. Also spent a lot of time on fires in the area. Unless the red flag event tomorrow actually produces a northeasterly wind that drives that fire into the valley, I think they will be just fine. I guarantee you that the incident management team is watching the weather and ready to start retardent drops at dawn based on the weather.

But again, it would take a hell of a wind event to push the fire into the crown and then down into the valley.

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I don't think he understands what a crown is in this case.
 

GRADS

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Looks like we have a mutual friend ;) I hope everyone in South Lake and the west side get up and go. The thought of all those people trying to leave at once . . . it could be a very bad situation.
You’re friends with Aaron too?👍
 

liquid addiction

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We got a little break from the smoke early yesterday in Carson City with a little wind change. It started rolling back in around 6pm. The other picture is from my DIL friend driving on hwy88 before they closed it. I think it was right by Kirkwood.


smoke3.jpg
fire3.jpg
 

Tooms22

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The guys running the show must know something that we don't... there's no air support near Echo Summit?
 

Magnuman

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This is the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office with an emergency message for your area. There is currently a fire in your area that is under a Mandatory evacuation order. You must leave your residence immediately in a safe manner. Please follow Emergency personnel's direction to leave the area. This is an immediate evacuation order for the Heavenly Evacuation Zone. Please evacuate the area using eastbound Highway 50 to the State of Nevada, northbound highway 89 will be closed. If needed there is a Red Cross Shelter at the Douglas County Community Center in Gardnerville, Nevada
 

MissB

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Tahoe Traffic Cam

Link to the Tahoe Traffic cam US 50 at Ski Run Everyone is leaving, which is good, I guess 89 is closed?
 

DaveC

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I heard it was limited due to lack of visibility from smoke and wind


The guys running the show must know something that we don't... there's no air support near Echo Summit?
 

DaveC

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Dave‘s not home man!!



I have run that trail a few times. Buddy has a house near Placerville and also Georgetown.

All our other riding areas in the fire zone just got torched though. I anticipate all the areas we frequent to be closed indefinitely this winter.
 
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Long Way Home

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We have a cabin near Pollock Pines/Placerville area and we were told to leave on the 17th and as of today can not get back in. Fire is 1.5-2 miles as the crow fly's from our place.
Waiting it out in HB until we get the all clear.

 

MSum661

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Live Cam with a portion of the fire approaching the summit at leek Springs. Live cam auto-refreshes about every 20 seconds.

 

liquid addiction

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I am sure they are airing on the side of caution. Other than hwy 50 coming into Carson City, every road/hwy coming in and out of Tahoe is 2 lane roads. They had on the radio here that if there was a rush evacuation, people would die because traffic could not move fast enough. No matter what, its all bad and I really feel for the firefighters and those that have lost everything.
 

jonnyd

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It's a good idea getting them out early. When we had to evacuate back in 2017 the traffic was gridlocked and the fire was all around us. I saw folks towing boats, car trailers and every car they owned which just added to the gridlock. We were ready to get out of our vehicle and run to safety. Saving every vehicle I own just seemed unimportant at the time.
 

angiebaby

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Which Dave?😏


If you look on a map of the Tahoe foothills the trail starts at Loon Lake.

The historic trail begins in Georgetown. It is the original route from Georgetown to McKinney's Lodge in the late 1800s, usually with stops at the Springs for at least a night and often overnight stops at Wentworth Springs and Uncle Tom's Cabin as well. Georgetown to Loon is a graded dirt road now, so most folks no longer consider it part of the "trail." It appears to be safe for now, but I think closer to Ice House Road and Kyburz is not going to fare well :(
 

DaveC

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We ride all over that area. The road to Georgetown is a paved road so not even a challenge. I have driven my RV all over that road. Very scenic drive especially in the summer. They had their trouble with fire a couple summers ago.

luckily the fire is far away from the trail

Kyburz was saved by the FD. It burned all around though.

The historic trail begins in Georgetown. It is the original route from Georgetown to McKinney's Lodge in the late 1800s, usually with stops at the Springs for at least a night and often overnight stops at Wentworth Springs and Uncle Tom's Cabin as well. Georgetown to Loon is a graded dirt road now, so most folks no longer consider it part of the "trail." It appears to be safe for now, but I think closer to Ice House Road and Kyburz is not going to fare well :(

Here is how close the fire came to our cabin. It is on the S curve of the road right where the fire stopped in this picture

D9672071-81AE-4261-B4A3-1025B04DA6A2.png
 
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DaveC

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We are on a roll with these damn fires. Last year we dodged a bullet with the fire in Napa burned right around our house there. This year the fire just missed the house near Tahoe.

Fire in Napa got within 150 feet. Kyburz got within 500 feet. Both fires destroyed thousands of structures

All thanks to the FD!!!!
 

Sharpy

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Wow!! I don’t know what to say…. If any of you affected by theses fires need a break, text me. I’ll be in town for the rib cook off at the Nugget and have 4 seats at a private table. ~Chris (909)821-2271

Edit: Saturday night.
 
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