Crews make gains as Caldor Fire slows near Lake Tahoe
Caldor Fire pace slows
Updated September 2, 2021 - 8:14 pm

Flames erupt in trees on a nearby ridge above Caples Lake as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, outside Kirkwood, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

The fire danger is still rated extreme as Smokey the Bear stands by off of SR 207 as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, about Upper Kingsbury, Nevada. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A burned-out pickup truck from the Caldor Fire on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Twin Bridges, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Flames erupt in trees on a nearby ridge above Caples Lake as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, outside Kirkwood, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Flames burn in the trees on a ridge above Caples Lake as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, outside Kirkwood, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Helicopters scoop up water from Silver Lake to go drop on a nearby ridge as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, outside Kirkwood, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A helicopter drops water from Silver Lake on a burning ridge as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, outside Kirkwood, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Sunlight is filtered through smoke and trees as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, outside Kirkwood, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A home in the Phillips Park neighbor wrapped in tin foil is left untouched by the Caldor Fire as others around are destroyed on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Twin Bridges, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Water runs from a faucet at a home destroyed by the Caldor Fire in the Phillips Park neighborhood on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Twin Bridges, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A bedspring and few other possessions remain but destroyed in a home from the Caldor Fire on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Twin Bridges, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Division of Forestry wildland firefighters lay water lines as flames erupt on a nearby ridge above Red Lake as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, outside Kirkwood, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Division of Forestry wildland firefighters gather as flames erupt on a nearby ridge above Caples Lake as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, outside Kirkwood, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

The sun casts a shimmering glow on Red Lake as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, outside Kirkwood, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

The entire Ridgeline has been burned from the Caldor Fire on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Twin Bridges, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Boats are anchored off the shoreline on a smokey Lake Tahoe as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in South Lake Tahoe. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

One of the many vehicle check points into the evacuation zone in South Lake Tahoe due to the Caldor Fire on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Clark County Fire Chief Kenny Holding and his crews are currently based with the Tahoe Douglas Fire department while assisting them on emergency calls as the Caldor Fire continues to burn on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, near Zephyr Cove, Nevada. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Horses eat grass along SR 207 as the Caldor Fire rages over the next ridge on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, west of Gardnerville, Nevada. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A helicopter from the Ventura County Fire department returns for more water to drop on a ridge along SR 89 from the Caldor Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Christmas Valley. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Fire burns amongst the pines on a ridge along SR 89 from the Caldor Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Christmas Valley. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A fire crew hikes up a ridge along SR 207 from the Caldor Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, west of Gardnerville, Nevada. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A sign is hung on the garage of an evacuated home from the Caldor Fire in Tahoe Meadows on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in South Lake Tahoe. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A sprinkler douses of evacuated home from the Caldor Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Kingsbury, Nevada. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A helicopter from the Ventura County Fire department drops more water on the Caldor Fire on a ridge along SR 89 on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Christmas Valley. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A tree still burns from the Caldor Fire along California State Route 50 at Sierra Pines Road on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, outside Strawberry, Calif. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Firefighters mop up spot fires along SR 89 from the Caldor Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Christmas Valley. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Jim, left, and Alicia Halloran with dog Billy Budd prepare to leave from the MontBleu now evacuating due to the Caldor Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Stateline, Nev. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Guests sit outside awaiting a shuttle as the MontBleu is now evacuating due to the Caldor Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Stateline, Nev. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Smoke fills the sky about the MontBleu and Harrah's from the Caldor Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Stateline, Nev. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
CARSON CITY — The Caldor Fire south of Lake Tahoe saw its slowest growth in days Thursday as winds that receded overnight stayed down all day.
The reduced winds helped fire crews make gains toward containing the fire, keeping it from advancing on populated areas or the lake, authorities reported Thursday night.
The 7 p.m. update from the joint fire incident team put the size of the blaze at 210,893 acres, an increase of 633 acres since the 7 a.m. report. It was a sharp change from the galloping advances that have burned through roughly 329 square miles. Containment was at 27 percent, up 2 percentage points on the day. More than 4,400 firefighters and other personnel are assigned to fire operations.
The fire has destroyed 650 homes and nearly 200 other structures and still threatens nearly 32,000 more. Reported injuries remain at five, three involving firefighters and two to civilians.
The fire command response is divided into east and west zones, with the eastern section covering an area that includes South Lake Tahoe. Progress in the western zone Thursday allowed officials to roll back evacuation orders and warnings, allowing residents to return.
Evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect for sections of Douglas County on the Nevada side of the fire.
“Nothing has changed in Douglas County as far as evacuations,” Sheriff Daniel Coverley said in a 5 p.m. community briefing Thursday. “And as always, you don’t have to wait for me to order you to leave. If you feel uncomfortable and want to get organized and get out, you can do that, and we encourage you to do that. Stay patient. These guys are doing a great job, and I think we’re in a good spot. So as soon as I can get you back into your homes, I will.”
The fire began Aug. 14 just south of the California community of Grizzly Flats in El Dorado County, about 35 miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe and 55 miles southwest of Carson City. Driven by prevailing winds, it sprinted to the northeast and came within 3 miles of South Lake Tahoe, forcing evacuations there and in several Nevada border communities.
Crossed the crest
Those winds made the Caldor blaze only the second wildfire in California history to run completely across the ridge of the Sierra Nevada range from west to east. The first, also this summer, was the Dixie Fire, which is still burning to the north in the Lassen National Forest, southwest of Susanville. That fire has consumed more than 859,000 acres and is 55 percent contained.
Thursday was forecast to be “a good day to not have gusty winds up on the ridges,” incident meteorologist Jim Dudley said at the 7 a.m. operational briefing. “The flow is much, much lighter, out of the south-southeast so you’re not going to get the atmosphere trying to increase your terrain winds today.”
Humidity levels also were better, but conditions remained dry, Dudley added. In the 5 p.m. briefing, Dudley said low-wind conditions would prevail again on Friday and into the weekend.
Stephen Vollmer, a California fire behavior analyst, said the dry conditions would continue to cause spot fires to pop up outside the fire’s perimeter and in previously unburnt areas.
“The conditions are still dry, the temperatures are still warm,” Vollmer said. Isolated islands of green in the fire’s interior “have been cooking for the last three or four days, and now they’re all dried out. It’s only going to take one tree or one bush in there to get the whole island going.”
Southern Nevada crews
With upper-level winds diminishing, the fire is expected to follow prevailing ground-level winds that flow uphill during the day as the air warms and downhill at night as it cools, fire officials said. Clark County Fire Battalion Chief Kenny Holding, part of a Las Vegas-area contingent helping with area fire protection, said officials in a virtual briefing Thursday discussed the potential for the fire to follow those winds eastward and down the slopes toward Gardnerville and Minden in Douglas County.
Holden’s crew is backing up local fire crews from Gardnerville who are assigned to the Caldor fire. He said there is no imminent threat to the area, and no evacuations are being considered.
“It’s going to depend on the progress of the fire and the Department of Emergency Management would make the call when large-scale evacuations would happen for that community,” Holden said.
Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Mick Akers contributed to this report.