SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Firefighters slowed the march of the Caldor fire as it inched toward Lake Tahoe Saturday, beating back the blaze 3 miles west of the Strawberry Lodge along Highway 50, but braced for shifting, gusty winds Sunday through Tuesday.
Choked by hazardous smoke conditions, many locals and tourists had already fled Lake Tahoe’s resort communities by Saturday, even without any evacuation warnings in place.
A fire weather watch — one step closer to a red flag warning — was put into place for 11 a.m. Monday by the National Weather Service. While those winds could supercharge the blaze, Cal Fire officials are hopeful that multiple sets of manmade fire lines, plus massive granite outcroppings in the nearby Desolation Wilderness, will help save the iconic Lake Tahoe Basin.
“There are a lot of granite rocks, boulders and rock cliffs that provide a natural barrier between the fire and the Tahoe basin,” Henry Herrera, a Cal Fire public information officer, said Saturday. “It’s still several miles from the fire, so we’re doing everything we can to stop the fire well before that.”
Along with Desolation Wilderness 3 miles east of Strawberry, two smaller lakes — Echo Lake and Lake Aloha – also form natural fire breaks and provide water for helicopters to dump on the blaze.
Containment grew to 19% Saturday, up from 12% the day before, “a pretty significant jump for us,” Cal Fire Cpt. Keith Wade said Saturday. The fire remained about 10 miles west of the community of South Lake Tahoe. Containment isn’t expected before Sept. 8.
Light winds Saturday morning blew out enough smoke to allow helicopters to fly and attack the blaze from above. The fire that started near Grizzly Flats has burned almost 150,000 acres and destroyed 469 homes.
“Even without the wind,” Wade said, “the fire has shown a propensity to grow and move.”
Cal Fire is expecting help in the coming days from crews leaving other blazes and from U.S. Army soldiers, who will be trained next week at a base near in Tacoma, Washington, as well as on the Caldor fire lines.
“The United States has been experiencing above-normal fire activity throughout multiple geographic areas, which will likely continue into the fall. These conditions are creating competition for all types of wildland fire resources,” said Josh Simmons, chair of the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group that requested help from the military. “In order to meet current demands, we are working with the U.S. military to activate additional fire suppression resources.”
Saturday afternoon, just northwest of the community of Strawberry, 150 Cal Fire and U.S. Forest workers staged in front of the mustard yellow general store where patches of fresh flames started burning the ridgetop. Watching the spot fires’ progress from the middle of the road as trucks navigated around him, U.S. Forest Service Engine Captain Mike Loeffler said crews were preparing to light backfires to protect the community’s northwest pocket.
“It’s kind of a waiting game right now,” he said. “We can handle this as it keeps throwing spots lower and lower.”
At the height of the summer tourist season, Lake Tahoe remained eerily quiet Saturday.
At the Red Hut Cafe, a longtime favorite for waffles, pancakes and piles of hash browns along Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe, Matthew McKnight, 22, said customers normally wait 20 minutes for a table on Saturday mornings. The smoke has driven them all away.
“If was crazy busy,” he said. “Now it’s dead.”
Looking across the lake, the west shoreline had disappeared into the smoke, with the ridge tops towering over Highway 89 barely visible under an eerie white sky. Hurricane Bay Beach was empty except for boats bobbing in the haze.
Bars, general stores and resorts strung along the two-lane road to South Lake Tahoe appeared deserted — save a few “Vacancy” signs outside dark motels — as the occasional car turned off toward residential streets.
Even the worst smoke he’s ever tasted — when fires from Mexico’s Copper Canyon region blew a thick haze into Dallas-Forth Worth about 10 years ago — doesn’t compare, Hindmarsh said.
“We were supposed to play golf, go out on the lake. Now we can’t do nothing,” he said, brandishing a Tahoe brochure. “Now it’s just gambling — and that gets old.”
Goodman threw up his hands.
“Look around you,” he said, “do you see anybody?”
Ted Kennedy, 56, plays with his band in Heavenly Village a few nights a week. But after half the band fled town, he donned a pork pie hat Friday and took up his guitar alone for the few people scurrying back to their hotels.
“I’m a renegade, but I’m not dumb,” he said of staying in Tahoe. “If they say it’s getting serious…” He shrugged. “But it’s still many miles away.”
