Local Strike Teams Defend Their ‘Backyard’ On The Front Lines Of The Caldor Fire

LAKE TAHOE (CBS13) — Christmas Valley was inactive a precedence Thursday for onslaught teams keeping the Caldor Fire that sparked days agone from jumping Highway 89 and heading towards homes.

Leroy Valdez with Squaw Valley Fire was connected the beforehand lines Thursday preventing ladder fuels from lighting up trees.

READ MORE: Caldor Fire Growth Slows As Winds Calm; More West Zone Evacuation Orders, Warnings Downgraded

“It got a small blistery there,” helium said, aft getting adjacent to a histrion that rapidly became engulfed successful flames.

For him, this firefight is much than getting the flames out—it’s astir defending his ain backyard.

“It’s decidedly excessively adjacent to home,” helium said.

He’s portion of a onslaught squad lighting a backmost occurrence operation, dilatory taking these flames southbound connected Highway 89 and distant from adjacent neighborhoods.

The daylight showed elephantine funnels of fume pouring from the forested hillside, but contempt the ominous scene, Cal Fire says lighter winds were moving successful their favour and providing immoderate much-needed relief.

READ MORE: Several Lanes Of EB I-80 Near Davis Blocked Due To Crash

Clear skies could beryllium seen on the h2o connected 89 adjacent Tahoe Pines, and backmost connected the beforehand lines crews are cautiously optimistic. But there’s inactive excessively overmuch occurrence adjacent homes to beryllium comfortable.

Conditions were peculiarly challenging successful the distant forests southeast of Lake Tahoe, wherever rugged terrain was not harmless to enactment crews connected the fire’s edge.

Now, Valdez and his squad anticipation this volition support the occurrence from South Lake Tahoe and the tens of thousands of businesses and homes that situation it.

“It’s ever successful the backmost of your mind, you unrecorded successful the mountains you benignant of person to hole for that,” helium said.

The reddish emblem informing expired Wednesday night, which is bully quality for Cal Fire which says this has been a wind-driven fire.

MORE NEWS: California Recall: Voters Returning Ballots So Far Largely Democratic, Older

Cal Fire says present they’re getting much resources successful to relieve immoderate of these crews who person been connected the crushed for weeks.

Marissa Perlman