The critical thing for the public to know is evacuate early,” said Chief Thom Porter, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. “There is fire activity happening in California that we have never seen before. Additional sites were open at a park in Carson City, the Reno Sparks Convention Center and a rodeo event center in Dayton and Lyon County fairgrounds in Yerington. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office transferred inmates to a neighboring jail.Įvacuation shelters at community centers in Carson City and Douglas County were at capacity, officials said Tuesday. South Lake Tahoe’s main medical facility, Barton Memorial Hospital, evacuated dozens of patients. Monday’s evacuation orders came a day after communities several miles south of the lake were abruptly ordered to leave as the fire raged nearby. Now it’s very real.”Īs flames advanced toward South Lake Tahoe, residents just over the state line in Nevada faced evacuation warnings. “Until this morning, I didn’t think there was a chance it could come into this area. There’s 3,500 firefighters, all those bulldozers and all the air support,’” he said. His son begged him to leave Sunday night, but he shrugged him off, certain that if an evacuation order came, it would be later in the week. Ken Breslin was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from his home in the city of 22,000, with only a quarter-tank of gas in his Ford Escape. The National Weather Service warned of critical fire weather conditions through Wednesday due to strong gusts, very low humidity and extremely dry fuels. But since then, 23 helicopters and three air tankers dumped thousands of gallons of water and retardant on the fire, fire spokesman Dominic Polito said. Thick smoke prevented air firefighting operations periodically last week. More firefighters arrived just after dark Monday and many were dispatched to protect homes in the Christmas Valley area, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the city of South Lake Tahoe. “It’s more out of control than I thought,” evacuee Glen Naasz said of the fire that by late Monday had been pushed by strong winds across two major highways, burning mountain cabins as it swept down slopes into the Tahoe Basin. Forecasters are warning of critical fire weather through Wednesday. New firefighters arrived Monday evening and were dispatched immediately to protect homes.Flames crossed state highways 50 and 89 and burned mountain cabins as it churns down slopes into the Tahoe Basin.Communities just across the state line in Nevada are warned to get ready to leave, as the huge Caldor Fire has grown to more than 292 square miles.A ferocious 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.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |