Caldor Fire: 46-mile stretch of Highway 50 closed between Placerville, South Lake Tahoe
Caltrans officials on Friday afternoon closed Highway 50 in both directions in El Dorado County, essentially cutting off the main route between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe, as high winds were expected to stoke the Caldor Fire.
The closure at 4:30 p.m. affected the Sierra roadway between Sly Park Road and Meyers, according to Caltrans. The road closure stretches 46 miles from east of Placerville to the Meyers roundabout at the base of the summit, just west of South Lake Tahoe, the California Highway Patrol said.
Sly Park Road ramps on Highway 50 are being reopened for vehicles to turn around during the closure. Caltrans officials said there was no estimated time for the highway’s reopening due to “the unpredictability of how strong winds will impact the fire this weekend.”
The Caldor Fire had burned more than 73,000 acres (115 square miles) and remained 0% contained, Cal Fire and U.S. Forest Service officials wrote in a Friday morning update, up from about 69,000 acres Thursday evening.
On Thursday evening, flames on the north end of the wildfire remained south of Highway 50 but only a couple of hundred yards away. Fire crews had established control lines on the north end. Though the flames still had not reached the highway Friday, threats to vehicles prompted the closure.
“We started to receive some debris falling down onto the freeway that was making it dangerous for cars to pass, because the fire is so close,” said Eric Schwab, Cal Fire operations sections chief.
Schwab, who spoke Friday evening during a community update on the Caldor Fire, said strong winds were expected to push the fire closer to the highway.
“We’re going to invest everything we can into holding the fire south of Highway 50,” Schwab said in the meeting broadcast on the Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit’s Facebook page.
More than 1,100 personnel are now assigned to the Caldor Fire, which spotted at short ranges overnight and is still burning in areas with difficult access due to steep drainages.
Mandatory evacuations remained in place for Pollock Pines, Sly Park, much of Camino, Kyburz and nearby areas. Voluntary warnings are in effect for northern parts of Amador County.
Cal Fire officials announced new mandatory evacuation orders that went into effect at 4:30 p.m.:
▪ Silver Fork Road in Kyburz east to Twin Bridges.
▪ North and south in a line extending from Twin Bridges to the Placer County line and south to the Amador County line.
Cal Fire officials said anyone under a mandatory evacuation order in Kyburz or east of Kyburz will head east on Highway 50 toward Lake Tahoe. Anyone ordered to evacuate to the west of Kyburz will need to head west on Highway 50 toward Placerville.
Evacuation warnings were issued on Friday afternoon for:
▪ From the evacuation order line in Twin Bridges east to the Echo Summit and from Highway 50 south to the Amador and Alpine County lines and north to the Placer County line.
▪ Dry Lakes Section: This section is north of Wentworth Springs Road up to the Placer County line and the remaining section of El Dorado County south of Placer County to Loon Lake.
Cal Fire officials said Highway 50 will remain open between Meyers and Twin Bridges for local residents only who live in that area. These residents must provide identification and proof of residency, and no traffic will be allowed west past Twin Bridges.
The National Weather Service on Friday issued a Red Flag Warning for the vicinity of the Caldor Fire that will remain in effect on Saturday from 11 a.m. through 8 p.m. Forecasters expected to see 20 to 30 mph west to southwest wind, up to 40 mph in some areas with a minimum daytime humidity of 20% to 30%. The dangerous weather conditions create a potential for rapid spread of an active wildfire.
Schawab said on Friday evening that the Caldor Fire made a 20,000-acre run to the north and northeast earlier this week during typical summer weather conditions. He said the Red Flag Warning on Saturday is an “extreme event. And if it comes to fruition, we will see rapid fire growth and spread.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 4:39 PM.
