By Fred Greaves Reuters
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., Sept 1 (Reuters) – South Lake Tahoe stood smoke-filled and largely deserted on Wednesday after crews fought back a huge, wind-driven wildfire, leaving the California resort town unscathed as flames crept on toward Nevada.
U.S. President Joe Biden approved a declaration of emergency in California and ordered federal assistance to boost local responders’ efforts to battle the Caldor fire, the White House said.
Biden’s action authorized coordination of disaster relief measures by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the White House added.
The Caldor fire, burning since mid-August in the Sierra Nevada range, still threatened homes and businesses near Lake Tahoe, abetted by gusty, bone-dry conditions.
But forecasts called for winds to significantly subside Thursday and Friday, giving firefighters a chance to make more headway and consolidate their gains.
“Over the next couple of days, we’re going to see the weather change, and we’re going to see the fire behavior slacken … to the point where we can actually get in there and do some good work,” Steve Volmer, a fire behavior analyst with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), told a community briefing on Wednesday evening.
South Lake Tahoe, the biggest town along the rim of North America’s largest alpine lake in a region renowned as an outdoor recreational hub and world-class ski area, had appeared to be in grave danger 24 hours earlier.
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From the LA Times
BY ANITA CHABRIA, RUBEN VIVES, HAYLEY SMITH
SEP. 1, 2021 UPDATED 9:30 PM PTKIRKWOOD, Calif. —
Helicopters thudded high above South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday as columns of thick, black smoke snaked skyward from distant ridges. Fire crews — more than 18 days into the fight against the raging Caldor fire — dug hand lines, bulldozed earth and bombed the blaze with water and retardant in an all-out effort to keep flames at bay.
It all seemed, at least in part, to be working.
The fire roared to more than 200,000 acres in size Wednesday but stayed mostly clear of the popular resort town. Firefighters also managed to protect many of the homes in Christmas Valley and Meyers, both within the Tahoe basin.
Officials confirmed some damage on the outskirts of the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort late Wednesday night, said Assistant Chief Jamie Moore, a Los Angeles firefighter working as part of the state’s interagency effort on the Caldor fire.
“They did lose some outbuildings, but the main lodge was not damaged,” Moore said.
A cost estimate was not available, he said.
Photos: Evacuation order issued for South Lake Tahoe as Caldor fire threatens
Yet even as officials expressed some optimism, a new possibility was looming as the head of the fire moved east toward the Nevada state line.
As of Wednesday night, the fire was burning about 5 miles away from the state line, Moore said.
“I’d be surprised if it doesn’t make it to Nevada in the next day or so,” said Craig Clements, a professor of meteorology and director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San Jose State University.
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