Last remaining evacuation orders lifted for Caldor Fire as crews near full containment
The last remaining evacuation orders and warnings in place for the Caldor Fire were lifted Monday, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Forest Service said.
Forest Service officials reported the blaze at 221,775 acres with 93% containment as of Monday morning. Full containment is expected by Oct. 16.
Most major evacuation orders, covering the South Lake Tahoe area on the east zone of the fire and the Pollock Pines and Sly Park areas on the west side, were lifted by mid-September.
Evacuation warnings and orders remained in place in sparsely populated areas up until Monday.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services in a Monday morning update said only about 120 El Dorado County residents remained evacuated due to the Caldor Fire. At one point around the end of August, about 50,000 were displaced.
In lifting the last remaining evacuations, the Sheriff’s Office advised the public to “stay vigilant on current fire conditions” and to be aware that many fire, law enforcement, public works and utility workers remain in the area responding to the Caldor Fire. There may be some localized road closures.
The fire ignited Aug. 14 south of Pollock Pines, then spread northeast along Highway 50 toward the Lake Tahoe Basin. The city of South Lake Tahoe was evacuated for about a week, between late August and early September.
More than 780 structures were destroyed, many of them homes, most in the town of Grizzly Flats during the fire’s initial sprint in mid-August. At least two civilians were injured; no fatalities were reported.
Part of Highway 50 was closed to the general public for just over a month, shuttering the travel route from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe from Aug. 20 until the last stretch between Kyburz and Meyers reopened Sept. 21.
The Caldor Fire is the 15th largest and 16th most destructive wildfire in recorded California history, Cal Fire records show.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Last remaining evacuation orders lifted for Caldor Fire as crews near full containment."
