Latest Stories

Firefighters continued to work tirelessly throughout the night, patrolling and holding the fire at current perimeters. Crews continued the aggressive direct attack, mop up, and building upon previously constructed handline.
In the areas of upper and lower Echo Lake, the fire activity was minimal. The crews continued mop up and patrol.

In Meyers and Christmas Valley, the fire continued to creep and smolder in the interior sections. Crews mopped up and improved the containment line in addition to patrolling around the structures.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Refuse collection service will resume in the repopulated area of the South Shore on Monday, September 6. Many customers of South Tahoe Refuse will have spoiled food and/or garbage due to the evacuation and are offering a solution before collection days. Bears and other wildlife will be extremely active as residents return, so a reminder to not put any food-related garbage out on the curb until the morning of collection day.

They are offering free temporary drop-off locations for household garbage and spoiled food only:

The Caldor Fire, which started back on Saturday, August 14, remains at 215, 400 acres and is now 44 percent contained.

East Zone

Firefighters continue to make progress around all portions of the East Zone. Due to the outstanding work of the crews and their aggressive mop-up, firefighters were able to add a good amount of containment line today.
Evacuation Orders for South Lake Tahoe city limits were downgraded to an Evacuation Warning at 3:00 p.m. today. They hope to get other neighborhoods in the county portion of the South Shore opened in next couple of days.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Less than a week after being forced from their homes due to the encroaching Caldor Fire, some residents of South Lake Tahoe are able to return home as of 3:00 p.m. Sunday. Mandatory evacuation orders are being lifted, but the area will still be in a yellow zone and be aware at all times of the news about the Caldor Fire (to see current evacuation map, visit HERE).

The Caldor Fire in El Dorado County is now 214,112 acres in size and 43 percent contained.

East Zone

Firefighters will continue their aggressive direct firefighting tactics and mop up operations in all areas of the fire. Last night, fire behavior was minimal to moderate, and crews held the fire within containment lines.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Weekly roundup of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in counties around Lake Tahoe, except for El Dorado County which is a daily update.

EL DORADO COUNTY

There have been 71 new cases of COVID-19 in El Dorado County since Friday.

Pollock Pines, Camino, Kyburz - 654 cases - +3 - The 14-day new case rate is 82 with 604 per 100,000 residents.
El Dorado Hills - 2767 cases - +20 - The 14-day new case rate is 272 with 640 per 100,000 residents.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - The Douglas County Community & Senior Center (DCCSC) will be an active evacuation center for Douglas County and Alpine County residents through the Labor Day Weekend. As of Friday there was one person housed at this center which was operated by Douglas County Emergency Management and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). All South Lake Tahoe evacuees from the Calder Fire were moved to the Reno Sparks Convention Center.

Mandatory evacuation downgraded to precautionary evacuation warning in Douglas County, though South Lake Tahoe, Meyers and Christmas Valley are still closed. There is one grocery store open at the south end of the lake, Safeway at Round Hill. It is suggested getting essentials before returning as lines are long and hours are shortened due to staffing levels.

Effective: September 4, 2021, 1:00 PM.

THE FOLLOWING AREAS ARE NO LONGER MANDATORY BUT REMAIN ON WARNING
Upper Kingsbury (South)
Upper Kingsbury (North)
Central Kingsbury
Lower Kingsbury

The ravaging toll of wildfires have caused thousands of residences and families in the Lake Tahoe communities to evacuate their homes and be displaced to shelters throughout northern Nevada. The Carson City School District is inviting all evacuated families in Carson City with school-aged children to enroll their students through the McKinney-Vento Students in Transition program.

More residents on the western end of the Caldor Fire were able to return home Friday, the first time in almost three weeks for some of them. As of Friday evening, the fire has burned 213,270 acres and is 32 percent contained.

East Zone

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The City of South Lake Tahoe is requesting that the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to continue to request from the White House a Federal Major Disaster Declaration and approve California Disaster Assistance Act funding.

President Biden approved a Presidential Emergency Declaration for Direct Federal Assistance on Sept. 1, but South Lake Tahoe City Manager wants the further request as it would allow for evacuated residents and public agencies to apply for federal assistance once approved.

Overall activity on the Caldor Fire decreased overnight due to moderate humidity recovery and a decrease in winds. Firefighters took advantage of these favorable conditions to build more control line and work direct along the northern edge of the fire. Spot fires from the wind event two days ago continue to be found and firefighters engaged when safe to do so. Minimal fire growth occurred in the Kirkwood area. Today crews will work to tie in more control line and mop up.

Today fire behavior decreased in western areas thanks to slow wind speed across the fire. The fire continues to back down towards US50 in multiple locations due to the heavy dead/down fuels. Aircraft and hand crews worked throughout the day to secure more control line along the southern edge of the fire near Kirkwood and Caples Lake, keeping it north of Hwy 88. Tonight, firefighters will take advantage of lighter winds and cooler temperatures to construct additional control lines. Damage inspection is in progress with approximately 65 percent of structures inspected to date.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - A former case manager for Douglas County has a warrant out for her arrest after a special grand jury has indicted her on two counts of theft.

Rena Petri, a current resident of Oakland, allegedly used her position to create fraudulent documents for fictitious rental assistance in the amounts of $2,400 and $2,000.

Three years after the Douglas County Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline was created, the program resulted in the investigation leading to the indictment of Petri.

Since the Caldor Fire started in Grizzly Flats on August 14, more than 50,000 resident have been evacuated in El Dorado, Amador, Alpine and Douglas counties.

More evacuation orders have been changed or lifted this morning, there are no changes to the orders in Lake Tahoe:

The following Evacuation Warnings have been lifted in El Dorado County.
CEMENT HILL - South of Omo Ranch Road accessed from Farnham Ridge Road.
FARNHAM RIDGE – South of Omo Ranch Road East of 8N62 to the Amador County Line.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - There have been 607 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in El Dorado County since Friday. Roughly 250 of those were due to issues with the electronic lab reporting connection between certain providers/testing sites and CalREDIE that occurred over the past few weeks. These cases were from the first three weeks of August and from now on, the County expects to receive full daily sets of data. As always the case rate, as opposed to the daily case counts, best illustrates the recent trend in confirmed COVID cases.

It’s easy to panic.

It’s easy to lose hope.

But we will not.

We need to evacuate South Lake Tahoe. The haze and smell of smoke are constant reminders of the wildfires raging miles away and the peril that now faces our city.

But panic is not what we want.

We all must take strength from our beautiful community. As Jews we draw inspiration from our forefathers and their trust in G-d — despite what it may superficially seem.

UPDATE 9/2/21: Round Hill has been removed from the mandatory evacuation order at Lake Tahoe. This area was included due to an abundance of caution according to Douglas County officials. Businesses in the Round Hill area are essential infrastructure serving the needs of the community and are not under immediate threat.

On the Nevada side, the mandatory order is still in effect for Upper Kingsbury (South), Upper Kingsbury (North), Central Kingsbury, Lower Kingsbury, Lower Olivers, Kahle Drive region and roads, Lake Village, areas south of Elks Point Road.

* * *

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As the first evacuees on the South Shore from Christmas Valley and Meyers were sent away from their homes due to the Caldor Fire, the only evacuation center was set up by the Red Cross at the Douglas County Community and Senior Center.

As of Tuesday night, that no longer became an option for Tahoe residents and those housed there were sent to the Reno Sparks Convention Center. Douglas County had to make room for its own evacuees along with those from Alpine County.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - The community of Lake Tahoe is reeling as the Caldor Fire continues to burn extremely near evacuated neighborhoods in El Dorado County and the City of South Lake Tahoe, and the shores of Lake Tahoe itself. Our staff at the League to Save Lake Tahoe are among the evacuees. Our hearts go out to everyone who has been forced from their homes, along with the emergency personnel, law enforcement and government officials who are working without rest.

Fire behavior increased dramatically in the northeast and eastern divisions early in the morning due to the expected strong winds and poor humidity. High wind speeds produced long-range spotting as the active crown fire runs reached the ridgetops. Spotting distances were over 1 mile. The fire continues to back down towards US50 in multiple locations and continues to threaten the control lines in Divisions G and H, which include Ice House Road and the Whitehall to Strawberry stretch. Fire spotted over the control line at Wright's Lake Road and the fire is threatening Wright's Lake.

Due to the progress of the Caldor Fire in South Lake Tahoe, Cal Fire has issued the following Evacuation Orders for Douglas County, Nevada, excluding the Stateline Casinos which are currently housing emergency personnel and operations.

• Upper Kingsbury (South)
• Upper Kingsbury (North)
• Central Kingsbury
• Lower Kingsbury
• Round Hill region and roads including Lower Elks Point
• Lake Village
• Lower Olivers, Kahle Drive region and roads

The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum (The Discovery) is partnering with a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization to offer a pop-up day camp Sept. 1–3 to support children and their families impacted by the Dixie and Caldor fires.

Project:Camp empowers families and communities to care for children during and after disasters by providing resources and training to create trauma-informed spaces for kids while they work to help their families recover from disaster including navigating government services, connecting with services for debris removal and more.

During their 10:00 a.m. briefing with the day's fire crews, CalFire said "today is going to be another big, dynamic fire day" due to the high winds and gusts could reach 50 mph.

Due to the winds and dry trees there will be more long range spotting today in the fire area, up to one mile, maybe more. The wind's erratic behavior will continue for at least one more day.