A tourism group is discouraging out-of-town visitors from traveling to Lake Tahoe as the Caldor Fire grows in size.
The Caldor Fire burned nearly 4,000 acres overnight Friday, expanding to 143,941 acres. According to CAL FIRE, over 3,200 personnel were battling the fire as of Friday morning.
Meanwhile, the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority on Thursday recommended visitors postpone "any immediate travel plans" for the first time as the Caldor Fire inched closer to the Lake Tahoe Basin. Evacuation orders between Echo Summit and Twin Bridges remained in place Friday morning after the Caldor Fire jumped Highway 50, with warnings still issued for Christmas Valley.
"Our thoughts and gratitude go out to all the firefighters and first responders working tirelessly to keep our communities safe. And our hearts and hospitality go out to the people who’ve lost their homes," Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority CEO Carol Chaplin said in a statement. "The current priority is the health and safety for our community and assisting firefighting efforts."
South Lake Tahoe continued to have hazardous air quality on Friday morning. The city had an Air Quality Index reading of 542 as of 7 a.m., according to IQAir, beyond the index’s 0-500 measurements. Poor air quality is linked to short-term adverse health effects, including increased hospitalizations for respiratory and cardiovascular issues, and health recommendations include running an air purifier indoors, wearing a mask outdoors and closing windows and doors to prevent dirty air from circulating.
Long-term research on the prolonged effects of wildfire smoke is needed, but Harvard researchers released a study earlier this month linking last year’s wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington to nearly 20,000 additional COVID-19 cases and 750 excess deaths. As of Friday morning, 28 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 and 10 were in the ICU, compared to 23 and three, respectively, the day before.
