Kent Porter on the fight to save South Lake Tahoe from the Caldor fire

Firefighters fanned out around the sprawling Caldor fire south of Lake Tahoe on Wednesday as it grew to more than 204,000 acres.

The blaze, which started Aug. 14, is 20% contained, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service said Wednesday.

It has destroyed nearly 550 homes and a dozen commercial properties. Nearly 35,000 additional structures are under threat, according to fire officials.

Firefighters on Wednesday aimed to stop the blaze from spreading north of Highway 4, south of Wentworth Springs Road, east of Fiddletown and Shenandoah roads and west of Highway 206 in Nevada.

The Kirkwood ski resort along Highway 88 remained an area of focus, fire officials said. The blaze was burning on a ridge just outside of the resort.

Veteran Press Democrat photojournalist Kent Porter is on the ground in the South Lake Tahoe area documenting the blaze.

In this series of dispatches, Porter shares what he witnessed, as told to reporters Matt Pera and Lori A. Carter:

Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021

Kirkwood 5 p.m.

Kirkwood, 2 p.m.

The fire is holding within the perimeter that firefighters have carved around the Kirkwood Ski Resort.

"Kirkwood itself is not right now in danger, although the fire is just over the ridge“ west of the resort.

Crews are cutting and chipping trees and other vegetation on both sides of Highway 88 at Carson Spur to reinforce the line there.

Firefighters are laying hoses while helicopters scoop water from Silver Lake, southwest of Kirkwood, and dump it on the blaze.

“Right now the wind is calm. When you get on the west side of Carson Spur, which goes down to Silver Lake, it picks up. But on the east side it’s not windy.”

South Lake Tahoe, 11:45 a.m.

"It’s warming up and it’s getting windy.“

An ominous quiet hung over the resort city on the edge of the lake, which was evacuated early Monday.

“You see more bears than you do people downtown.”

Apache Avenue, 10 a.m.

“The fire is stretched out everywhere. There are heads at Echo Summit, Kirkwood, above Pioneer Trail. They don’t know how far the fire has progressed, because it’s been so smoky they couldn’t get air support in there.”

It was a chilly morning in the South Lake Tahoe area and “the cool weather is definitely helping” the firefight. Visibility had improved and air support was expected to get a view of the fire.

“It’s still really smoky, but the sun, at least, is out today."

In Meyers, where a backfire flared up Tuesday night, firefighters were putting out hot spots off Apache Avenue, east of Highway 50.

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021

Conditions moderate, 8 p.m.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort, 7 p.m.

There were reports that Kirkwood Mountain Resort was in danger, but the scene was clear and provided a brief respite from smoky conditions.

Fire crews are on Highway 88 and are in process of clearing brush, keeping a gap of about 25 feet between the road and vegetation.

Heavenly Valley Creek, 5 p.m.

Near Pioneer Trail, it’s “so smoky you can’t see the sun anymore. There’s a big inversion that’s trapping cooler air. There’s no wind at all, at least where I am.”

Hearing reports of wildlife being injured and rescued.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s office has ordered immediate evacuations for all Upper, Central and Lower Kingsbury areas and other areas.

Chiapa Drive, 3:40 p.m.

Fire briefly jumped a line firefighters had dug near Chiapa Drive in the Meyers Grade area but they were able to catch it.

“There is a brick building they’re trying to protect and a bunch of homes to the west. They’re going to let it burn out on the east.”

Fire crews are trying to find and put out spot fires near the junction of Highways 50 and 89.

East side of Echo Summit, 2:30 p.m.

“The fire is acting up. It was clear but getting smokier now.”

Fire crews are along Upper Truckee Road and Highway 50, trying to keep fire from spotting west of the highway.

“Once in a while an ember will land across the highway and they’ll put it out. They’re trying to protect it from going over to that side.”

The area is near where the Angora fire burned 3,100 acres in 2007.

In that wind-whipped blaze, flames destroyed 254 homes and caused an estimated $141 million damage. It started from an abandoned camp fire on June 24 and burned through July 3. Three people were injured.

“That area was really affected by the Angora fire. It’s grown back a lot since then.”

The scene from Meyers, 12:30 p.m.

About 6 miles south of the junction of Highways 50 and 89, near this town on the outskirts of South Lake Tahoe, the roads are clear of evacuees and businesses are closed.

Fighting spot fires has been a major effort for firefighting teams.

“Basically, the fire is everywhere. The wind is picking up so they’re having problems with spotting everywhere.”

…

South of Meyers in the Christmas Valley area, fire crews are targeting homes and other buildings for protection.

“They have hand crews cutting lines. The fire is coming down all the way to the structures. It’s low fire, but they’re still protecting the structures. They’re doing that to all the towns along Highway 89.”

Fire crews from all across California, Nevada, Utah and other states have come to help.

…

Firefighting isn’t just dousing flames with water and retardant or lighting backfires to stop forward progress.

“They’re doing point protection – if they’ve got a spot fire, they put units in there.”

Strike teams, composed of five engines and a battalion chief, are stationed all over.

“They work around the structures. They’re basically going where the edge of the fire is, going house to house putting out spot fires.”

…

“It’s surreal. We’re used to our fires that usually hang up in the mountains. This fire is everywhere. Heavy ash rains down all night long. I woke up and my truck was covered in ash.”

With shops, businesses and hotels closed, a parking lot near Raley’s has been a safe place to sleep. Clif Bars stashed in the go-bag are lunch.

…

Perhaps hundreds of bulldozers are arriving to help fight the fire in the mountainous terrain.

“Some of them are staged on the side of the road, some are working. They get them coming in all day long. You’ll hear a strike team say I need four dozers over here.”

As the day goes on, the wind has picked up.

…

The terrain is typically ponderosa pine, which can make dramatic displays when they catch fire.

“When fire hits them, they torch off, throw off real big flames. It sounds like a constant ocean sound when you’re close to it.

“You can feel it, when a tree torches, you can feel the air getting sucked into it. From a science perspective, it’s real interesting, but it’s also scary. Firefighters are worried about it because they throw off embers.”

Despite the fire danger, many residences remain under canopies.

“There are a lot of pine needles on houses. It’s almost all pine up here. They’re like Roman candles. You can imagine, they surround every structure.”

Follow Porter on Twitter at @kentphotos.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.