TheCaldor Firestarted exactly 2 weeks ago today. In those 2 weeks it has expanded to 145,000 acres, destroyed an historic town, threatened wineries, devastated grape harvest, and has a chance of causing catastrophe in Tahoe. Here’s a summary of where we stand on all fronts:
Fair Play: cautiously good news! After several scary nights, tons of hard work by fire crews, and lots of supernatural intervention, solid bulldozer lines have been established and the fire is dying down in the region. We still have 3-4 days of very hot temps, very low humidity, and some winds, so we can’t quite celebrate yet, but it’s certainly better now than before!
Pleasant Valley: The fire rose its ugly head yesterday, broke through dozer lines and barreled down Camp Creek towards Pleasant Valley. Miraflores Winerywas (and still is) in serious peril. This fire is still active, but fortunately the hottest parts have gone south of Miraflores and into the North Fork of the Consumnes River. The fire still surrounds Miraflores, but heat maps indicate it hasn’t breeched the property (I do not have on-ground confirmation of this, though). Remember, even if the fire doesn’t reach the vineyards and the winery, the indirect effects of the smoke and the harvest disruption are devastating.
Grizzly Flat Rd portion of Fair Play: this region is sandwiched between two fingers of the fire. To the south the threat is currently small (much like Fair Play), but the new push into Pleasant Valley presents a bit of a threat to the north. This doesn’t appear to be worrying experts too much, but it is still worth keeping an eye on.
Camino and Amador: safe from the fire, not safe from the smoke. Tahoe: the eastern part of the fire continues to have its cross hairs on Tahoe. The push was slowed yesterday with lighter winds than expected and with established lines. But, it did continue to creep that way nonetheless. Most experts are saying the likelihood of the fire working its way through the granite fortress that protects Tahoe is very small. A few, including some I’ve grown to trust very much, say it’s almost inevitable. 🙏🙏🙏