Caldor Fire grows to 65,474 acres

7:30PM UPDATE 8/29: The Caldor Fire is now measured at 68,630 acres and has no containment line at this time. More firefighters were added today an now 1,118 personnel are assigned to the fire that started about 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Early in the day Thursday, fire activity subsided due to the strong inversion layer, but it became active after 3:00 p.m. The fire continues to make runs in the steep drainages with the aid of large amounts of dead and down material with drought-stressed fuels. Live fuels are cured to levels usually seen in late September, and the moisture in them is historically low. These types of fuels are very receptive to spotting fires.

To follow the new updates, visit http://southtahoenow.com/story/08/19/2021/caldor-fire-68630-acres-no-containment
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8:30AM UPDATE 8/19: The Caldor Fire burning southwest of Lake Tahoe has now burned 65,474 acres and officials are not reporting any containment this morning. Fire growth was moderated overnight due to increased humidity. Spotting and rollout continued to be the main contributor to fire spread throughout the evening. Spot fires remain hidden for long durations due to dense timber stands and limited road access. For the next operational period fire behavior will increase in the afternoon when the inversion layer lifts. Expect multiple new spot fires in the North and Northeast areas of the incident, causing potential fire growth. Red Flag Warning in the fire area ends at 11:00 a.m.

9:15PM UPDATE: Cal Fire has updated the acreage burned in the Caldor Fire, and today date 62,586 acres have been consumed since the fire started Saturday night. Today, the fire continued to make runs in several steep drainages with the aid of the large amounts of dry vegetation in the area. The fire’s most significant growth as in the northeast corner, south of US50, although there was some growth in all divisions. Communities closed to the fire experienced multiple evacuations yesterday due to the fast-moving fire. The damage assessment team has begun evaluating areas save to enter.

Evacuation orders spread into Amador County Wednesday.

Warm and dry conditions are expected with low daytime relative humidities on Thursday. Winds are expected to become less gusty but quickly shift from the east to northeast tonight around 10:00 p.m. Winds are forecast to increase and shift again back from the west Thursday morning.

Structures Threatened: 5,897
Civilian Injuries: 2
First Responder Fatalities: 0
Structures Destroyed or Damaged: Undetermined
Containment: 0%
Total Personnel: 601 - Engines: 61, Water Tenders: 10, Hand Crews: 11, Dozers: 20, Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the State are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow.

Interactive evacuation map for El Dorado County can be seen here - https://eldoradocounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=c995bf3816964e948d7d831d3ba938ff. Amador County lists are here - https://www.facebook.com/AmadorSheriff/posts/2972645156350204.

5:45PM UPDATE: The evacuation areas of the Caldor Fire did not expand any further east into Desolation Wilderness today, but they did move south into Amador County. The predicted north winds didn't happen today, and an inversion sat over the fire and allowed firefighters to work on stopping the spread of the fire. The winds that did happen moved the fire to the northeast, away from populated area, but towards the mountains and forest west of Lake Tahoe.

"Nothing is coming easy," said the fire team during a 5:00 p.m. meeting on Facebook. There is a lot of challenging terrain within the fire boundaries.

Fire officials will work on getting their daily update by 7:00 p.m.

With the large number of fires currently burning, the Caldor Fire firefighting team has requested additional resources, but they are limited due to the demand. Fixed wing aircraft were able to get into Wednesday as the smoke dispersed. Helicopters are working in the smoky areas.

Here are the Amador evacuations: Shenandoah Road at the Amador County line west through the River Pines community, continuing west on Shenandoah Road to Ostrom Road. South on Ostrom Road to Jibboom Street, West on Jibboom Street to Fiddletown Road. East on Fiddletown Road to Hale Road. South on Hale Road to Shake Ridge Road. East on Shake Ridge Road to Charleston Road. South on Charleston Road to the intersection of Charleston Road and Rams Horn Grade. Due east to Highway 88 at Tiger Creek Road. Tiger Creek Road east to Salt Springs Reservoir Road. East on Salt Springs Reservoir Road to the east end of the Salt Springs Reservoir. Due north from the east end of Salt Springs Reservoir to Highway 88. Updates here - https://www.facebook.com/AmadorSheriff/.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - 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.

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.

The rapidly changing, complexity and immediate needs of the incident have
prevented assessing the quantity of resources resulting in no reported changes to the documented numbers in this update, which remains at 242 people. USFS has received additional resources and immediately utilized them on the fire. Significant resources have been ordered to be assigned to this incident.

Mandatory evacuations remain for:

• Grizzly Flat: The areas on Grizzly Flats Road east of Kendra Way into Grizzly Flats Proper. The areas of Diamond Railroad Grade, Old School House,
Sweeney Road, Caldor Road, and steely Ridge.
• Grizzly Flats Road east of four corners in somerset into Grizzly Flats Proper. The areas of Myers Lane, Varmet Ridge Road, Rodwell Canyon Road, Snowbird Lane, and Mehwald Lane.
• East of Sly Park Road between Highway 50 and Mormon Emigrant Trail to Ice
House Road. This includes the communities of Pacific House and Fresh Pond.
• North of Highway 50 ,east of Forebay Road to Ice House Road.
• Intersection of Perry Creek and Hawk Haven , the East side of Fairplay Road from Perry Creek South to Cedarville Road. This includes Slug Gulch, Omo Ranch, and all roads off of Slug Gulch and Omo Ranch.
• All roads off of Omo Ranch from Cedarville Road to Hwy 88.
• The area between Highway 88 and Mormon Emigrant Trail
• South of Highway 50 from Snows Road to Ice House Road.
• Between Highway 50 and Slab Creek from Snows Road to Ice House Road.
• South of Highway 50 from Ice House Road to Silver Fork Road. This includes
the community of Kyburz.
• North of Highway 50 from Ice House Road to Silver Fork Road to include Ice
House Reservoir, Union Valley Reservoir, and Loon Lake.

An evacuation map can be found from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office HERE.

Expect unhealthy air in the Lake Tahoe Basin and Carson Valley. As of 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, most areas are 140-250 AQI though some pockets are higher, and others lowers.