The so-called Caldor fire has been raging in the US state of California for more than two weeks. Now the flames have reached a popular holiday area.
Sacramento – California’s popular Lake Tahoe getaway area has been partially cleared due to rapidly spreading forest fires.
The fire brigade instructed the residents and vacationers on the southern edge of the huge mountain lake in the Sierra Nevada on Monday morning (local time) to leave the region. A fire that had raged for more than two weeks had eaten eastward to the vacation area in northern California at the weekend.
More than 3,700 firefighters are fighting the so-called Caldor fire, but the fire was only 14 percent under control on Monday. It has already covered an area of more than 700 square kilometers and destroyed almost 500 houses in the mountain region.
The fire department pointed out dangerous conditions due to extremely dry vegetation and strong winds. The environmental authorities have been warning of unhealthy air quality for weeks. Due to the risk of forest fire and smoke pollution, the El Dorado national forest was closed to hikers and other visitors. The closure is initially planned for the end of September.
The western United States and Canada have been hit by a series of forest fires for many weeks. The so-called Dixie Fire in Northern California has been raging since mid-July and has burned more than 3,100 square kilometers there, according to the fire protection authority Cal Fire. The second largest fire in the history of California is only just under half under control even after weeks of deployment by the fire brigade. It destroyed over 1200 buildings and largely burned down the former gold rush town of Greenville. dpa
