The Caldor fire in California has already burned 755 km² and is advancing towards the most densely populated areas. Only 15 per cent of it has been contained.
El Dorado County in California, not far from the Nevada border, has been burning continuously since 14 August. Sixteen very long days during which the Caldor fire – as it has been named – has already consumed 755 square kilometres of land. And it shows no sign of stopping. On 30 August all 22,000 residents of the south shore of Lake Tahoe received orders to leave their homes for safety reasons, as the flames, which had started in more remote areas, were dangerously approaching densely populated zones.
As early as May, various signs were pointing to a dramatic fire season in California, comparable – or even worse – than that of 2020. Above all because the overwhelming majority of the US state's territory, 73 per cent, was already in the grip of what was described as "extreme" drought. The forecasts proved entirely accurate. At this moment – reports the San Francisco Chronicle – more than 15,000 firefighters are engaged in fighting around fifteen blazes that have already reduced more than 7,000 square kilometres to ash.
The Caldor fire is emblematic of this. According to the latest updates released by the authorities, it has spread across 755 square kilometres, destroying 482 structures, damaging a further 39 and causing five injuries. A toll that is set to worsen in the coming hours, given that to date only 15 per cent of it has been contained. The dry and windy weather conditions, moreover, are helping the flames to spread.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak declared a state of emergency. All California's national forests will remain closed to the public until at least 17 September.
On the evening of Sunday 29 August the flames also reached the popular Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, at an altitude of 2,000 metres. For two weeks, staff members had been working to protect the area, which covers around 8 square kilometres. They secured air ducts to block embers, stored heavy equipment indoors, took computers and documents to safety and, when the fire arrived, activated the snowmaking guns to keep it at bay.
"It came from the west side, almost as if it had us in its sights, this great wall of fire," the facility's manager, John Rice, told the San Francisco Chronicle. Without the preliminary preparation, carried out with the assistance of firefighters, the damage would have been catastrophic.
Fires are nothing new in the forests of the area. Those of recent years, however, have been so violent as to prompt a rethink of all safety protocols, and have also sent insurance premiums soaring.
Article updated on 1 September