South Lake Tahoe evacuation orders lifted as crews increase containment on Caldor Fire
Evacuation orders for South Lake Tahoe and other areas along the western shore of the lake were lifted Sunday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.
At 3 p.m., Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado Unit announced that evacuation orders for the South Lake Tahoe city limits as well as areas east of Highway 89 and north of the city up to Emerald Bay were reduced to warnings.
Caltrans District 3 posted to its official Twitter account just after 2:15 p.m. that the transit agency was planning on reopening Highway 50 from Nevada to the city of South Lake Tahoe to allow residents to return after being ordered to leave last week.
Activity on the Caldor Fire slowed over the weekend, and fire crews have managed to increase containment on the 215,400-acre blaze. The fire is 43% contained, but still poses a threat to nearly 30,000 structures throughout El Dorado County and surrounding areas.
In a Sunday morning status update, Cal Fire and U.S. Forest Service officials said “firefighters are hopeful for repopulations of some of these communities in the coming days.”
Many evacuation orders remain in place south of South Lake Tahoe and throughout the eastern side of El Dorado County.
This story was originally published September 5, 2021 at 3:28 PM with the headline "South Lake Tahoe evacuation orders lifted as crews increase containment on Caldor Fire."
