Huge chunks of ash rain down as South Lake Tahoe evacuates Caldor Fire, photos show
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California Wildfires
The latest on the wildfires burning in California. Get updates on the Caldor Fire, Dixie Fire and others, including size, containment, evacuation orders and more.
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The still-growing Caldor Fire has prompted numerous evacuations across much of South Lake Tahoe, California on Monday as smoke and ash blanket communities, fire officials said.
Large chunks of ash are falling and the air quality is dangerous as the fire, which has been burning in the Sierra Nevada since Aug. 14, swells across 177,260 acres.
One Twitter user compared the size of the ash to a lemon in a photo saying she found chunks of coal in her backyard in South Tahoe.
Low overnight humidity and “critical fire conditions” have kept the fire actively burning and contributed to “ember casts” traveling nearly a half mile, according to the U.S. Forest Service. A red flag warning was issued until Sept. 1.
Fiery embers are carried in the wind away from the fire — and can spread the wildfire further.
Air quality levels around the Caldor Fire have also reached hazardous levels, the National Weather Service reported.
Parts of South Lake Tahoe and Nevada saw air quality levels higher than 500 as of Monday evening, according to AirNow’s Fire and Smoke map. Unhealthy air ranges from 151 to 200 and 301 to 500 means “health warnings of emergency conditions.”
Thick concentrations of hazardous smoke levels in Placerville and parts of South Lake Tahoe may take longer to clear, USFS Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program reported.
And hazy smoke will likely remain over northeast California and western Nevada for the rest of the week, the National Weather Service said in a special weather statement Monday afternoon.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Huge chunks of ash rain down as South Lake Tahoe evacuates Caldor Fire, photos show."
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