California's Caldor Fire forces new evacuations after "unprecedented" growth

Jacob Knutson
·2 min read

The Caldor Fire in Northern California triggered new mandatory evacuation orders for communities in El Dorado County after showing "unprecedented" behavior. The fast-moving blaze grew by at least 46,500 acres to more than 53,000 acres on Tuesday and through the night, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Why it matters: The wildfire, which is being driven by strong, shifting winds and extremely dry fuels, threatens more than 5,800 structures and has damaged numerous homes in and around the town of Grizzly Flats. It has also injured at least two civilians.

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  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for the county Tuesday due to the Caldor blaze — which ignited Sunday about 60 miles east of Sacramento.

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The latest: A red flag warning is in effect for the fire area all day Wednesday because of strong winds, high temperatures and drought conditions.

  • The National Weather Service also placed large portions of Northern California counties under red flag warnings until 8 p.m. PT on Wednesday, including parts of the San Francisco Bay area.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), California's largest power company, shut off power to parts of 18 Northern California counties — affecting an estimated 51,000 customers — Tuesday night to reduce the risk of ignition from its equipment.

  • Smoke from the Caldor Fire, the Dixie Fire — the second-largest wildfire in California's recorded history — and other blazes have triggered air quality advisories in portions of Central California.

  • The Dixie Fire grew by roughly 22,200 acres overnight Tuesday to a total of 626,751 acres. It is currently only 31% contained and is threatening the town of Susanville, which has a population of around 18,000.

  • For hours, the Caldor Fire was accompanied by a towering cloud of smoke and water vapor, known as a pyrocumulus cloud, which is a telltale sign of extreme fire behavior. The column of smoke was also rotating, which is another indication of an unusually intense blaze.

The big picture: Human-caused climate change has contributed to a prolonged, severe drought that has gripped California and other Western states and exacerbated wildfire activity.

  • The federal government formally declared a water shortage at Lake Mead on Monday for the first time since the nation's largest reservoir by volume was created in the 1930s, Axios' Andrew Freedman reports.

Go deeper: In photos: Where wildfires are blazing around the world

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