Pollock Pines told to evacuate as Caldor Fire burns in Northern California

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Officials told residents in Pollock Pines, the most populous community in the vicinity of Caldor Fire, to evacuate late Tuesday as the Caldor Fire raged a few miles away in the rugged woods and canyons of El Dorado County.

The late-evening order followed a tense day. Restaurant owners and other business owners in the community of 7,000 said they were staying alert for evacuation orders as the fire, which exploded overnight, filled the air with smoke.

The Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation advisory at mid-morning for the community, according to officials with the Forest Service. That was followed up in the early afternoon when officials ordered an immediate evacuation of the area east of Sly Park Road and south of Highway 50. By nightfall, an evacuation map released by the sheriff showed all of Pollock Pines under mandatory evacuation.

The fire was still confined to areas south of Highway 50, while Pollock Pines is largely located north of the highway. Nonetheless, the possibility that the Caldor Fire could jump the highway left residents on edge.

“It’s pretty darn close,” said John Woodworth, manager of the Pollock Pines Mobile Home Park, earlier in the day. “If the wind shifts, we’re in trouble.” He said he’d alerted the two-dozen or so residents to be ready to flee.

A few miles from the tourist spot of Apple Hill, Pollock Pines is home to many retirees drawn to the trees in the foothills at the edge of the Eldorado National Forest. Many still remember two major fires in the area two months apart in 2014: the Sand Fire, which burned 4,200 acres, and the 97,717-acre King Fire, both of which came close to forcing major evacuations in Pollock Pines and surrounding communities.

On Tuesday, Kimberly McCarthy, owner of the 50 Grand Restaurant & Bar in Pollock Pines, rushed over to the restaurant to gather up paperwork “and get out of the way.”

McCarthy said the restaurant has been closed for remodeling for several months and was getting close to reopening. When she looked out the window from her home near Camino, she could see plenty of smoke.

“I just hope everybody’s OK,” she said. “It’s sort of surreal.” She said most of the town’s businesses had closed.

At the True Value Hardware store, owner Dave Campbell said customers were streaming in to buy garden hoses and sprinklers “to try to hunker down” and protect their homes from fire.

“We live in the mountains — just try to weather the storm,” Campbell said.

Jim Pierce, owner of the Dogwood Mobile Home Park, said he just talked to the on-site manager as he was preparing to evacuate the park. “They’re getting their stuff ready in case they get evacuated. They’ve got heavy smoke,” Pierce said.

He said Pollock Pines has lots of low-income housing, and he feared for what would happen to residents who lose their homes. “It’s going to hurt bad, it’s kind of like Paradise,” he said, referring to the Butte County town that was almost completely destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire.

This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 11:14 AM with the headline "Pollock Pines told to evacuate as Caldor Fire burns in Northern California."