One year memorial of the Caldor Fire, dedication and community ceremony at LTCC gallery

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – When the first flames of the Caldor Fire reached the Lake Tahoe Basin, dropping over Echo Summit, an image that stays with many was that of Matthew Henderson stomping out a spot fire in front of the Celio Ranch in Meyers on August 30, 2021.

Henderson, who has followed California fires since 2005, will be honored along with another on-the-scene journalist Lysée Mitri, local fire personnel, City of South Lake Tahoe officials, and the U.S. Forest Service at a community ceremony on August 17 to mark the first anniversary of the Caldor Fire.

Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and Tahoe artist Shelley Zentner are partnering to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Caldor Fire at the college's Haldan Art Gallery. The public is welcome to attend on Wednesday, August 17 from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. in the library building on the LTCC campus.

The event will take place as part of the closing ceremony for an exhibition of paintings and drawings made with charcoal gathered from the Caldor Fire. Zentner lives and works in Christmas Valley, the narrow strip of green that was miraculously preserved by firefighters, favorable wind, and fuels management between two ‘wings’ of charred forest.

“After we returned from evacuation, I began collecting charcoal from the fire to draw with. It felt like a healing thing to do at a time when we, as a community, were reeling from shock and devastation,” Shelley explains, “It’s my hope that the artworks serve as a ray of light in dark times.”

The Caldor Fire ignited on August 14, 2021, destroying the community of Grizzly Flats, The wildfire raged up the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, burning more than 221,000 acres and over 1,000 structures.

Henderson drove the roads of El Dorado County, recording what he was seeing for those evacuated from their homes.

In an interview with Sonoma Magazine, Matthew explained his motivation for running toward the fires most people run away from:

“My main purpose for being at these fires is to give people as much information as I can. I’ve never lost a home to fire, but I can imagine being worried and not knowing, ‘Is my place OK?’ I’ve talked to a lot of evacuees over 15 years. They’re out of the area, they don’t know the condition of their house. If I can alleviate just a little bit of their concern by sharing images from where things are happening, I’d like to. If I can give that little bit of hope to people, that makes it worthwhile."

"Another big part of what I do is to show people what it means to be a firefighter—what men and women are up against and the conditions they’re in when they fight these fires,” Henderson added.

‘Call & Response’ will be on display at the Haldan Gallery, Lake Tahoe Community College, 1, College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, until September 2, 2022. Opening hours are Monday 1 p.m. - 6 p.m., Tuesday 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Wednesday 1 p.m. – 6 p.m., and Thursday 11 a.m. – 3 p.m, closed Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Admission Free.

Learn more at www.shelleyzen.us.