Saturday Fire Update: Caldor Fire at 37 percent contained; estimated containment by Sept. 13
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Sat, 09/04/2021 - 11:18am
UPDATE: Evacuation orders have downgraded since this article's publication, please visit this article for updated information specifically on evacuations.
As of Saturday morning at 7 a.m., the Caldor Fire is reported to be at 37 percent contained, burning at 214,107 acres.
According to Inciweb, the estimated containment date is now Monday, Sept. 13.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and began at approximately 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14 four miles south of Grizzly Flats and 2 miles east of Omo Ranch.
As of Saturday, there have been 4,662 personnel assigned to the Caldor Fire.
WEATHER CONCERNS:
WEST ZONE:
Observed: Clear with areas of smoke. Inversions set in after 2000 and persisted
through the night. 48-55 highest elevations to 56-63 lower elevations. Humidity recovery poor at 23-28 percent. Winds were downslope/downcanyon 4-9 mph with gusts to 13 mph
in deepest drainages.
Forecast: High pressure will remain over the fire area through Sunday with inversion conditions, low relative humidity with poor recoveries and warming temperatures.
Increased ridge winds will return by Monday and an overall uptick in winds will occur early
next week.
EAST ZONE:
Observed: Strong inversions formed overnight with very poor humidity recoveries only
reaching 20 to 30% along the mid-slopes and ridgelines. Good recoveries occurred
in the lower valleys with temperatures in the 30's in the lowest elevations. Ridge winds generally remained out of the southeast gusting to around 20 mph with
lighter downslope
terrain driven winds
over the rest of the
fire area.
Saturday Forecast:
Extremely dry air will remain over the fire area on Saturday with a warming trend continuing through the weekend as high pressure builds over the west.
Humidities will drop into the low to mid-teens at all elevations again during the day with very poor recoveries on mid-slopes and ridges. Ridge winds will remain generally out of the southeast 10 to 15 mph with clearer smoke conditions on the east side of the fire. Surface winds remain generally terrain driven with upslope winds 4 to 8 mph during the afternoon and gusts up to 15 mph in canyons.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
*Evacuation areas are listed according to zones established by the respective county and law enforcement agencies. Full descriptions are available on county websites.
REMINDER: There is still a temporary Emergency Closure in effect for the Eldorado National Forest through the end of September. This closure includes all National Forest lands, roads and trails within the Eldorado National Forest. See Forest Order 03-21-14 for more information. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is closed under the Regional Emergency Closure of all National Forests in California. See the Regional Order for more information. Recreation residence and other permittees should contact their permit administrator for questions regarding access when their area becomes open for repopulation.
DOUGLAS COUNTY, NV EVACUATIONS ORDERS: Upper Kingsbury, Lower Kingsbury
• Upper Kingsbury (South), Upper Kingsbury (North), Central Kingsbury, Lower Kingsbury, Lower Olivers, Kahle Drive region, and roads, Lake Village, areas south of Elks Point road.
DOUGLAS COUNTY, NV EVACUATIONS WARNINGS: Douglas Zone 2
• Zone 2: Any homes or property located on Foothill Road from Centerville Lane north to Muller. Included in this zone is the valley side of Kingsbury Grade and any homes that are accessed by Foothill Road between Centerville Lane and Muller Lane.
ALPINE COUNTY EVACUATION ORDERS:
• Zones 19, 20, 21, and 22
ALPINE COUNTY WARNINGS:
• Zones 23, 24, and 22A
EL DORADO COUNTY ORDERS:
North Camino to Ice House, North US 50 East of Forebay to Ice House, East Sly Park to Ice House Rd, Cole Station, Henry's Diggings, Leoni Meadows, Dogtown Creek, Big Mountain, Caldor, Greater Grizzly, Crystal Basin, US 50 South to Kyburz, Caples Creek, Mormon Emigrant Trail to HWY 88, Zone 4a, Zone 5a, Hell Hole, Echo North, Echo South, Christmas Valley, Washoe Meadows, Meyers, Tahoe Island, Tahoe Keys, Sierra Tract, Al Tahoe, Bijou, Heavenly, Stateline, Tahoma, Fallen Leaf, Trimmer, Pioneer, Gardner Mountain
EL DORADO COUNTY WARNINGS:
- The area described as South of US Highway 50, North of Starkes Grade Road, East of Snows Road and West of Fresh Pond.
- South Sly Park - South of Starkes Grade Road, north of Sly Park Creek, east of Pleasant Valley Road up to and including the Diamond Garnet subdivision.
-The area described as South of Pleasant Valley between Bucks Bar Road and Newtown Road, East of Bucks Bar Road to Mt. Aukum Road. This includes the area of Gopher Hole Road and Moonshadow.
- Grizzly Flats West – East of Highway E16, west of Steely Ridge Road, South of the North Fork of the Cosumnes River and North of the Middle Fork of the Cosumnes River.
- Happy Valley - All properties accessed from Happy Valley Road.
- Dry Lakes, South of Wentworth Springs, Hwy 50 South/Newton, Springer, Ant Hill, Mt. Aukum, Coyoteville, Pi Pi, North Camino, Omo South, Omo East,
AMADOR COUNTY ORDERS:
Zone 4a and 5a
AMADOR COUNTY WARNINGS:
Zones 1, 2, 3, 4b, 5b
