Thick smoke from the Caldor Fire enveloped the city of South Lake Tahoe, which was all but deserted during a summer week usually bustling with tourists.
The National Weather Service warned Wednesday that severe weather conditions could develop, including extremely low humidity, dry fuel, and wind gusts of up to 30 mph (48 km/h).
Stephen Vollmer, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection fire behavior analyst, said, "With those winds it ran through the forest, it created what's known as an active crown fire burn, where the fire actually runs from treetop to treetop."
He stated that embers were being thrown up to a mile in front of the fire, creating new ignition points.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Henry Herrera said that the blaze was located 3 miles (5 km) from South Lake Tahoe on Tuesday afternoon. KGO-TV also heard this:
The city's main arterial was jammed for hours by 22,000 people a day earlier. They were told to evacuate as the fire grew.
South Lake Tahoe city officials said only a handful of residents defied Monday's evacuation order. However, Tuesday was a day of concern for most people about the future course of the fire.
Tom O'Connell, his wife Linda, and their two-bedroom home waited for the fate while they anchored in Ventura Harbor on their sailboat. Their two-bedroom home, which they have owned for 40 years, survived the Angora Fire in 2007, which destroyed approximately 250 homes. They didn't know if their luck would be again.
O'Connell stated, "You should worry about the things that you have some control over." "We don't have any control over this."
The Caldor Fire, driven by strong winds, crossed two major highways to sweep down the slopes of the Tahoe Basin. There, firefighters were protecting remote cabins from the steep terrain.
Chief of Cal Fire Division Erich Schwab stated that some homes were destroyed, but it was too soon to determine how many.
"The fire burned through them extremely quickly, extremely hot. He said that they did their best, and that they had done our best.
Last week, thick smoke prevented air firefighters from tackling the fires. Dominic Polito, a firefighter, said that since then nearly twenty-three helicopters and three aircraft tankers have poured thousands of gallons water and retardant onto the fire.
