More evacuation as Caldor Fire continues to grow - now 22,919 acres

8/17 UPDATE: The Caldor Fire that started near Grizzly Flats on Saturday night is now 53,772 acres and has no containment. Airplanes mapped the fire overnight. Late Tuesday night, fire officials said 22,919 acres had burned. Today's fire story is now here - http://southtahoenow.com/story/08/18/2021/caldor-fire-now-mapped-53772-acres-0-containment.

The communities in proximity to the Caldor Fire experienced multiple evacuations yesterday due to the fast-moving fire. Some structures were damaged or destroyed.

Structure assessment teams will be evaluating these areas as soon as it is safe for them to do so.

11:45PM UPDATE 8/17: The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office says a mandatory evacuation order for morth of Highway 50 from Ice House Road to Silver Fork Road to include Ice House Reservoir, Union Valley Reservoir, and Loon Lake.

11:20PM UPDATE 8/17: Cal Fire now says 22,919 acres have burned so far in the Caldor Fire burning out of control in El Dorado County, west of Lake Tahoe. At this time, 5,897 structures are still threatened after destroying several during the day, including a school. Fire officials have not determined as of tonight how many burned.

There have been two civilian injuries. Firefighters got two men out of the fire with severe burns from two different homes near Grizzly Flats.

The fire experienced unprecedented fire behavior and growth Tuesday, according to Cal Fire. A Red Flag Warning remains in the fire area until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday with winds switching to the northeast. The priority today switched from firefighters creating a fire line to their evacuating residents.

Significant fire resources have been ordered.

9:30PM UPDATE 8/17: There is no official word on how many acres have been burned so far at the Caldor Fire, but early reports said about 30,000. Officials at USFS Eldorado Forest said they won't announce until verified.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office has added several areas to the mandatory evacuation list:
- Intersection of Perry Creek and Hawk Haven
- East side of Fairplay Rd from Perry Creek South to Cedarville Rd
- All roads off Omo Ranch from Cedarville Rd to SR88
- All areas between Mormon Emigrant to SR88

There is mapping of the evacuation areas (see here) from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.

7:00PM UPDATE 8/17: The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office has ordered more mandatory evacuations - South side of US50 north of Sly Park to extend West to Snows Road, and the north side of US50 from Larsen Drive to the west and Ice House to the East.

Evacuation Warnings:
Crystal Basin north of US50 to include the area of Loon Lake Ice House, and Union Valley Reservoir, the area South of US50 from Ice House Road to Kyburz extending south to Hwy 88.

Citizen Evacuation Centers
• Currently Accepting People
Cameron Park Community Services District
2502 Country Club Drive,
Cameron Park, CA 95682
• Currently Full
Diamond Springs Fire Hall
3734 China Garden
Diamond Springs, Ca

Animal Evacuations
• Large Animals
Amador County Fairgrounds
• Small Animals
El Dorado County Animal Services 530-621-5795

11:00AM UPDATE 8/17: The Caldor Fire demonstrated critical overnight fire behavior during the overnight operational period which ended on August 17 at 7:00 a.m. This led to the implementation of several new evacuation orders and warnings in the Grizzly Flats, Somerset, and Omo Ranch communities as
previously announced. Additionally, structures have been destroyed and damaged in these communities and will be assessed by damage inspection teams when conditions are safe.

Due to current and expected fire behavior, the Caldor Fire continues to pose a high risk to several population centers and communities near the fire. This includes the potential for additional impact in the Omo Ranch and Grizzly Flats. There are additional impacts predicted to Sly Park Reservoir, interstate travel routes, and evacuation routes. In addition to residential properties, commercial timberlands, vineyards, businesses, vineyards and other agricultural lands are threatened.

This is a rapidly evolving fire incident. There has been no update to acres burned at this time.

7:45AM UDPATE 8/17: The Caldor Fire burning southwest of Lake Tahoe has ballooned into 6500 acres. There is no containment. The fire Is Burning In The Steep Middle Fork Cosumnes River Canyon East Of The Omo Ranch Area, four miles south of Grizzly Flats in El Dorado County.

The forecast over the next three days calls for high winds and hot temperatures, possibly leading to rapid fire growth.

MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDERS have been issued for the following areas:

Grizzly Flats/Somerset
- All roads off of Grizzly Flat Rd., east of Mt. Aukum Rd. in Somerset(Known as Four Corners) into Grizzly Flats Proper

Happy Valley
- All roads off of Happy Valley Road, east of Mt. Aukum Rd. in Somerset to Sciaroni
- Leoni Meadows
- Saw Town Creek
- Caldor area including North South Road
- Dogtown Creek South of Caldor Road
- Barney Ridge East of Omo Ranch Road
- Omo Ranch Road to North South Road
- Caldor area including North South Road
- Pi’Pi Valley up to Armstrong Hill

EVACUATION WARNINGS have been issued for the following areas:
- Communities of Omo Ranch Proper, Omo Ranch East, and Omo Ranch South.

SHELTER INFORMATION:
An evacuation center is open at:
The Fireman’s Hall
3734 China Garden Road
Diamond Springs, CA 95619
For small animal shelter needs, contact the El Dorado County Animal Services at (530) 621 – 5795

10:00PM UPDATE: Inciweb is reporting the Caldor Fire burning south of Pollock Pines near Omo Ranch and Grizzly Flats is 2,261 acres in size, not the 3,000 Cal Fire reported.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office has updated its evacuation/warning list:

There is an evacuation warning in effect for these areas in the community of Grizzly Flats: East of the Intersection of Grizzly Flat Road and String Canyon Road; The area east of Sciaroni Road and Capps Crossing; North to String Canyon Road.

The fire made aggressive runs today and there was a spot fire on Big Mountain Ridge that added to the acres burned. This is a rapidly changing incident with dynamic fire behavior, according to Cal Fire. Resources are thin due to all of the other fires burning in California and the West.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - The Caldor Fire burning in El Dorado County has grown to 3,000 acres in size and has no containment since starting on Saturday evening, according to Cal Fire Twitter. The fire had been at 754 acres Monday morning.

There was heavy air attack on the fire throughout Monday, as well as a strong ground response. 285 fire personnel are working on the Caldor Fire.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office has issued mandatory evacuations for the following areas:

- Dogtown Creek South of Caldor Road
- Barney Ridge East of Omo Ranch Road
- Omo Ranch Road to North South Road
- Caldor area including North South Road
- Pi’Pi Valley up to Armsrong Hill

EVACUATION WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT for the following area:

- Henry Diggins off Caldor Road

SHELTER INFORMATION:

An evacuation center is open at:

The Fireman’s Hall
3734 China Garden Road
Diamond Springs, CA 95619

For small animal shelter needs, contact the El Dorado County Animal Services at (530) 621 – 5795

At this time, the cause of the fire is under investigation.