New evacuation orders were issued for South Lake Tahoe and the Caldor Fire forced 22,000 people to flee as the blaze burned along Highway 50 toward the lake on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.
On Monday evening, the fire was burning down the granite face of Echo Summit into the Christmas Valley section of Meyers, Calif.
The blaze had burned 177,260 acres and was just 14% contained as of Monday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. More than 470 homes have been destroyed since it began August 14.
Sunday, firefighters used the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort as a staging area for equipment and firefighters who tried to stop the blaze. Snow-making water guns were aimed at the lodge and other buildings, and although the fire burned through the area most of the buildings were saved.
The news was grim for homeowners in Twin Bridges, where cabins burned.
Here are photos from the scene.
MEYERS, Calif. – Aug. 30: Cal Fire’s Brad LaForce keeps a check on the Caldor Fire burning near homes in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Monday evening, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
MEYERS, Calif. – Aug. 30: The Del Rosa Hot Shots from San Bernardino, Calif. position themselves at the base of Echo Summit as the Caldor Fire burns into the Christmas Valley section of Meyers, Calif., Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
MEYERS, Calif. – Aug. 30: The Caldor Fire burns east of Highway 89 in Meyers, Calif., after igniting from embers that casted over Christmas Valley as the blaze burned down Echo Summit, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
ECHO LAKE, Calif. – Aug. 30: Mark Christensen from Gilroy fights the Caldor Fire on a strike team made up of SCU and CZU Cal Fire units from Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, at Camp Berkeley near Echo Lake. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
ECHO LAKE, Calif. – Aug. 30: Firefighters from the SCU Cal Fire unit in Santa Clara County refill their Type 3 engines with water from Echo Lake while fighting the Caldor Fire, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
ECHO LAKE, Calif. – Aug. 30: Jay Payton of South Lake Tahoe Fire, keeps an eye out for falling embers as the Caldor Fire burns down the granite face of Echo Summit into the Christmas Valley section of Meyers, Calif. Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
ECHO LAKE, Calif. – Aug. 30: A hot shot crew marches up Christmas Valley in Meyers, Calif., as the Caldor Fire makes its push over Echo Summit into the Tahoe basin late Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
ECHO LAKE, Calif. – Aug. 30: Jason Higgins monitors the march of the Caldor Fire as it burns down the face of Echo Summit into the Christmas Valley section of Meyers, Calif. Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. – Aug. 30: A tree burns in a blackened forest at dawn Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, after the Caldor Fire tore through the Twin Bridges area on Highway 50 overnight, destroying many structures in the area. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. – Aug. 29: Cabins burn on the north side of Highway 50 in Twin Bridges, Calif., as the Caldor Fire explodes late Sunday afternoon, Aug. 29, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. – Aug. 30: Fire smolders around a ski lift sign at Sierra at Tahoe before dawn Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, after the Caldor Fire burned through the area overnight. All the resort’s major buildings appeared undamaged. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. – Aug. 29: Sierra at Tahoe snow-making machines were redirected to spray buildings at the ski resort as the Caldor Fire approaches Sunday afternoon, Aug. 29, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)ECHO SUMMIT, Calif. – Aug. 29: Northward view on Echo Summit as emergency vehicles drive Highway 50, Sunday evening, Aug. 29, 2021, as the red glow from the Caldor Fire hangs over the Tahoe basin. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)ECHO SUMMIT, Calif. – Aug. 29: A young bear walks up the middle of Highway 50 late Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, as the Caldor Fire continues its spread toward the Tahoe basin. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. – Aug. 30: Homes destroyed overnight by the Caldor Fire sit in ruins in the Phillips Park area of Twin Bridges, Calif., Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. – Aug. 29: Echo Summit glows ominously as a firefighting dozer is hauled up Highway 50 to fight the approaching Caldor Fire, Aug. 29, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
STATELINE, Calif. – Aug. 30: Thick haze hangs over Highway 50 from the Caldor Fire, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, where air quality index readings reached over 600. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Aug. 30: Thick haze hangs over Highway 50 from the Caldor Fire, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, with air quality index readings of over 600. Evacuation warnings were issued for the town of 22,000 people. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
TWIN BRIDGES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 30: A chairlift at Sierra-at Tahoe ski resort sits idle as the Caldor Fire moves through the area on August 30, 2021 in Twin Bridges, California. The Caldor Fire has burned over 165,000 acres, destroyed over 650 structures and is currently 13 percent contained. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
TWIN BRIDGES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 30: The Caldor Fire burns in trees at the Sierra-at Tahoe ski resort on August 30, 2021 in Twin Bridges, California. The Caldor Fire has burned over 165,000 acres, destroyed over 650 structures and is currently 13 percent contained. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
TWIN BRIDGES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 30: A snow machine blows water on a structure at Sierra-at Tahoe ski resort as the Caldor Fire moves through the area on August 30, 2021 in Twin Bridges, California. The Caldor Fire has burned over 165,000 acres, destroyed over 650 structures and is currently 13 percent contained. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
TWIN BRIDGES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 29: Firefighters monitor the Caldor Fire as it burns through the area on August 29, 2021 near Twin Bridges, California. The Caldor Fire has burned over 165,000 acres, destroyed over 650 structures and is currently 13 percent contained. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
TRAGEDY SPRING, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 29: The Caldor Fire burns along a ridge on August 29, 2021 near Tragedy Spring, California. The Caldor Fire has burned over 165,000 acres, destroyed over 650 structures and is currently 13 percent contained. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
EMERALD BAY, Calif. – Aug. 30: CHP officers man a road block on Highway 89 stopping northbound traffic at Emerald Bay State Park from evacuating the Caldor Fire, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
EMERALD BAY, Calif. – Aug. 30: Traffic evacuating from the Caldor Fire passes through the burn scar of the 2007 Angora Fire on Highway 89 near Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Aug. 30: Gridlock on Highway 50 eastbound through South Lake Tahoe, Calif., as the town goes under an evacuation order because of the Caldor Fire, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
STATELINE, Calif. – Aug. 30: Lift machinery destroyed by the Caldor Fire is visible at the Sierra at Tahoe ski resort, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
ECHO LAKE, Calif. – Aug. 30: Firefighters from the SCU Cal Fire unit in Santa Clara County and the CZU unit in Santa Cruz County offer structure protection at Camp Berkeley, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
