A wildfire is approaching Lake Tahoe just hours after roads were clogged with fleeing cars when the entire California resort city of South Lake Tahoe was ordered to evacuate. Communities across the state line in Nevada are warned to get ready to leave.
The popular vacation haven normally filled with tens of thousands of summer tourists emptied out Monday as the massive Caldor Fire rapidly expanded. Vehicles loaded with bikes and camping gear and hauling boats were in gridlock traffic, stalled in hazy, brown air that smelled like a campfire. Police and other emergency vehicles whizzed by.
“Before, it was, ‘No worries ... it’s not going to crest. It’s not gonna come down the hill. There’s 3,500 firefighters, all those bulldozers and all the air support,’” he said. “Until this morning, I didn’t think there was a chance it could come into this area. Now, it’s very real.” The threat of fire is so widespread that the U.S. Forest Service announced Monday that all national forests in California would be closed until Sept. 17.“We do not take this decision lightly but this is the best choice for public safety,” Regional Forester Jennifer Eberlien said.
Porter said that only twice in California history have blazes burned from one side of the Sierra Nevada to the other, both this month, with the Caldor and Dixie fires. The Dixie, the second-largest wildfire in state history at 1,205 square miles about 65 miles north of the Lake Tahoe-area blaze, prompted new evacuation orders and warnings Monday.
“It’s just yet another example of how wildfires have changed over the years,” she said as she gathered treasures passed from her deceased parent and her husband’s while they prepared to leave. Not everyone agreed as fierce winds kicked up dust and debris and drivers sat in gridlock. The California Highway Patrol added “quite a bit of additional personnel” to help guide a chaotic evacuation from South Lake Tahoe, as huge traffic jams slowed the evacuation of vehicles, CHP Assistant Commissioner Ryan Okashima said. Congestion had eased by Monday afternoon.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Weather heats up as California fire inches toward Lake TahoeSOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Spiking temperatures and increasing winds on Sunday added to the challenges faced by firefighters battling blazes across Northern California, including one that continued its march toward the Lake Tahoe resort region.
Read more »
Fast-Spreading California Wildfire Reaches Lake Tahoe BasinThe Caldor fire burning in Northern California is spreading in “unprecedented” ways, leading to mass evacuations and destroying hundreds of homes.
Read more »
Caldor Fire Forces Evacuations in South Lake TahoeEvacuation warnings were issued Sunday for the southern part of the Lake Tahoe Basin, in South Lake Tahoe (corrects an earlier tweet, which has been deleted, that incorrectly stated warnings were issued for the entire basin)
Read more »
Wildfire forces thousands from popular Lake Tahoe resortSOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of people rushed to get out of South Lake Tahoe as the entire tourist resort city came under evacuation orders and wildfire raced toward the large freshwater lake of Lake Tahoe, which straddles California and Nevada.
Read more »