California wildfires: Caldor Fire damage inspection complete; Dixie Fire near million acres
The Caldor Fire continues to burn and smolder, one month after igniting in rugged terrain in El Dorado County.
Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service reported the blaze Tuesday morning at 219,267 acres (343 square miles) with 68% containment. Officials said active fire behavior inside the perimeter continued due to low humidity, but the fire’s reported acreage did not increase overnight.
Damage inspections have been completed to date, Cal Fire said, and the Caldor Fire has destroyed 782 homes, 18 businesses and 203 minor structures; another 81 structures were damaged but intact. Most of the destruction came in the town of Grizzly Flats.
President Joe Biden on Sunday approved a major disaster declaration for El Dorado County in response to devestation. Biden then on Monday toured damage from the fire during a visit to California.
The Caldor Fire sparked Aug. 14 south of Pollock Pines, then sprinted north and northeast over the next few days, largely destroying the town of Grizzly Flats, home to just over 1,000 people. Two civilians picked up in Grizzly Flats were airlifted to hospitals.
The fire’s extreme growth at the outset prompted urgent evacuations for the Pollock Pines and Sly Park areas. Flames then crawled and spotted east along Highway 50, burning to the doorstep of the Lake Tahoe Basin and prompting mandatory evacuations in and around South Lake Tahoe.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been gradually lifted or reduced to warnings for most well-populated areas, including South Lake Tahoe, most of the Tahoe Basin, the west shore of the lake as well as the Pollock Pines and Sly Park areas.
Evacuations remain mandatory near Echo Summit, Phillips and Twin Bridges on the east side of the fire, and in the immediate area of Grizzly Flats on the west side.
The Caldor Fire is the 15th-largest wildfire in California’s recorded history, according to Cal Fire. As of Tuesday morning it stood about 750 acres shy of No. 14, the 1932 Matilija Fire, which burned 220,000 acres in Ventura County. Caldor is also the 16th-most destructive fire in state history.
More than 3,300 firefighters remain assigned to the fire, the cause of which has not yet been determined.
Dixie Fire
The Dixie Fire is on the brink of becoming California’s second wildfire incident in modern history to surpass 1 million acres.
Federal and state fire officials reported the blaze Monday evening at 960,470 acres (1,500 square miles) with 75% containment.
The massive wildfire ignited more than two months ago above the Cresta Dam in the Feather River Canyon. It has ballooned in size over numerous flare-ups, driven by wind, steep terrain and critically dry fire fuels produced by the state’s severe drought.
The Dixie Fire has burned on parts of Plumas National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Lassen Volcanic National Park and in five counties: Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Tehama and Shasta. More than 2,400 firefighters were battling the incident as of Monday evening.
Evacuation orders and warnings on the blaze have changed frequently with fire behavior and wind patterns. The fire as of Tuesday morning threatened about 1,500 structures, all under warnings or orders.
The Dixie Fire has destroyed at least 1,329 structures since sparking July 13, including more than 725 homes and about 140 businesses, making it the 14th-most destructive fire in state history. Damage assessment is still in progress, Cal Fire says.
California’s only million-acre wildfire to date was the August Complex, which ignited near Mendocino National Forest during an August 2020 lightning storm.
No other fire in California’s recorded history has surpassed even 500,000 acres, according to Cal Fire records.
Sequoia National Park, Forest fires sparked by lightning
Multiple wildfires are burning in California sequoia forests, including inside Sequoia National Park and Sequoia National Forest.
The Paradise and Colony fires, collectively known as the KNP Complex, have scorched more than 3,000 acres as of Tuesday morning with 0% containment, according to the National Park Service. Evacuation warnings have been issued for parts of the town of Three Rivers.
Another wildfire that sparked last Thursday at Tule River Reservation has crossed into Sequoia National Forest, the Forest Service said Monday.
The Windy Fire is 1,297 acres with 0% containment.
“Two high value Giant Sequoia Groves are being impacted by the fire,” Sequoia National Forest wrote in a Monday incident update, and the Mule Peak lookout had “a low probability of survival.”
Formal evacuation orders have not been issued for the Windy Fire, but the Forest Service in an incident reported noted that nearby communities in Tulare County including Camp Nelson, Ponderosa and Johnsondale have limited routes and would need advance notice.
All three fires were sparked by lightning during thunderstorms late last week.
Monument Fire
Shasta-Trinity National Forest personnel continue to respond to the Monument Fire, which as of Tuesday morning had burned 213,319 acres (333 square miles) with 43% containment.
The Monument Fire is burning near the communities of Del Loma and Hayfork. It is the 16th-largest wildfire in state history, just below the Caldor Fire.
Forest Service officials in a Monday incident report said mild, stable weather conditions helped with containment progress, but that a “warming and drying trend in the next several days could increase fire activity.”
Numerous evacuation orders and warnings remain in place. More detailed information is available from Shasta-Trinity National Forest and the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office.
This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 9:52 AM with the headline "California wildfires: Caldor Fire damage inspection complete; Dixie Fire near million acres."
