Wildfire updates: Caldor Fire still active; latest on Sequoia fires, Dixie Fire
Fire officials are asking El Dorado County residents to remain vigilant as the Caldor Fire remains active, even as most mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted for well-populated areas near Lake Tahoe.
“While fire personnel have made considerable progress in containing the Caldor Fire, the fight is NOT over!” the U.S. Forest Service’s Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit wrote in a news release and social media posts Wednesday evening.
“The fire is not out or fully contained. Please remain vigilant and be mindful of what is happening in your community.”
The blaze, which ignited Aug. 14 south of Pollock Pines, was reported Thursday morning at 221,161 acres (346 square miles) with 76% containment. It has become the 14th largest wildfire in California’s recorded history, overtaking the 220,000-acre Matilija Fire from 1932.
Highway 50, closed for just over a month by the Caldor Fire, reopened for general travel this week. The last remaining closure, between Kyburz and Meyers, was lifted by Caltrans and law enforcement Tuesday morning.
Cal Fire and the Forest Service in incident reports said the fire has remained active this week due to gusty southwesterly winds and low humidity.
The agencies say they are planning a firing operation to prevent spread toward Christmas Valley, a hamlet of cabins several miles south of Lake Tahoe, tucked between Highway 50 and Highway 89.
Sequoia fires
Two incidents, the KNP Complex and Windy Fire, burning in Sequoia National Park and Sequoia National Forest grew active this week amid wind, threatening historic groves of sequoia trees.
The KNP Complex, ignited by lightning Sept. 10, as of Thursday morning had burned 33,046 acres with no reported containment, according to an update from Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.
Crews are working to protect the Giant Forest Sequoia Grove.
The Windy Fire, burning on the Tule River Indian Reservation and in Sequoia National Forest, was 36,249 acres with 6% containment as of Wednesday evening, and is also threatening giant sequoia groves.
Numerous evacuation orders have been issued, including for Camp Nelson, Pierpoint, Coy Flat, Mountain Aire, Cedar Slope, Alpine Village, Rogers Camp and Sequoia Crest.
Smoke from the two fires has worsened air quality in the Fresno area.
Dixie Fire
Crews are nearing full containment on the mammoth Dixie Fire, California’s second-largest wildfire incident ever recorded.
Burning since July 13 in parts of Butte, Lassen, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties, the blaze as of Thursday morning had reached 963,276 acres (1,505 square miles) but is 94% contained.
Crews are still observing hot spots, Cal Fire and Forest Service officials said in a Wednesday incident update, but containment lines are holding.
Fawn Fire
The Fawn Fire, a new incident that sparked Wednesday near Shasta Lake in Shasta County, swelled to 800 acres by Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire. It is 5% contained.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office ordered mandatory evacuations in the Mountain Gate area Thursday morning.
The Tierra Oaks subdivision in northeast Redding is under an evacuation warning, the Redding Police Department said around 9:30 a.m.
This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 9:01 AM with the headline "Wildfire updates: Caldor Fire still active; latest on Sequoia fires, Dixie Fire."
