Resorts burn and fire tornadoes rage in blaze-ravaged California, as entire CITY ordered to evacuate (VIDEOS)
Fresh evacuation orders have been issued in the resort city of South Lake Tahoe, California, as a devastating wildfire closes in. Meanwhile, fires to the south of Los Angeles have whipped up intense tornadoes of flame.
Residents of South Lake Tahoe, a resort town on the Californian side of the lake straddling the state’s border with Nevada, were ordered on Monday to head east, as law enforcement officers went door to door to make sure everyone complied.
Now that evacuations are mandatory in South Lake Tahoe law enforcement officials are going door-to-door knocking on doors asking people to leave. @KQEDnews @KQED #caldorfire pic.twitter.com/ymqq28Ja41
— Ezra David Romero (@ezraromero) August 30, 2021
The order was given as the Caldor Fire – one of 20 large wildfires currently burning in the Golden State – closed in. Photos from South Lake Tahoe showed smoky air, and pictures from the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort 12 miles (19km) to the south showed firefighters, aided by the resort’s snow cannons, desperately trying to hold back the inferno.
The #caldorfire made a destructive run along Hwy 50 on Sunday evening through the Strawberry and Twin Bridges, CA. Dozens of structures were destroyed and the fire burned through part of the @Sierra_at_Tahoe ski resort. pic.twitter.com/AZxJ39UVWW
— Justin Sullivan (@sullyfoto) August 30, 2021
I find this picture iconic and extremely sad - snow guns used to contain massive #Caldorfire at @Sierra_at_Tahoe snow resort. pic.twitter.com/SakwybyCjR
— Jan Lenaerts (@lenaertsjan) August 30, 2021
Tragic losses between at least Camp Sacramento and the Sierra Tahoe turn off. Unknown E of there. #CaldorFire Hwy 50 viewing north driving East pic.twitter.com/8amM7NZ7cW
— craig philpott (@CphilpottCraig) August 30, 2021
Some 24,000 people have already left their homes along the highway connecting South Lake Tahoe with Sacramento, CBS San Francisco reported on Monday. The fire has destroyed nearly 500 structures, injured five people, and burned more than 177,000 acres, according to data from Cal Fire.
The Caldor Fire had only been 14% contained by Monday afternoon, and firefighters in Riverside and San Diego Counties, south of Los Angeles, were facing similar difficulties getting the Chaparral Fire under control. Dramatic video footage captured over the weekend showed helicopters dumping tank loads of water onto the blaze, which had been whipped up into a tornado of flames.
#ChaparralFire ???? Thank you, Cy Phenice for this powerful video clip of the fire conditions yesterday. pic.twitter.com/kS7VTDSiGL
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) August 29, 2021
???? Footage from the cockpit of one of our #OCFA helicopters ???? assisting on the #ChaparralFire. For information visit @CALFIRERRU.
— OCFA PIO (@OCFireAuthority) August 29, 2021
The fire is not in OC nor is it a threat to OC at this time. pic.twitter.com/wtzlBXyaOB
Wildfires are a natural occurrence in California, though officials and scientists have also blamed climate change for extending dry spells and exacerbating the severity of the fires. California authorities have also been blamed by some experts – and former president Donald Trump – for poor forest management.
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