California's Dixie Fire Grows to Over 725K Acres.Caldor Fire's Latest Estimates Show Nearly 450 Buildings Destroyed.California Prepares for Record-Setting Wildfire Season.Over 50 Areas in California Report Hazardous Air Quality Due to Caldor Fire."I just think that the smoke and the fires have gotten bigger, hotter and faster-moving."Ĭlimate change has made the West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists. And I think it's becoming a reality for us, unfortunately," Diane Nelson said. "Everybody's trying to make accommodations for the smoke.
In the end, the Nelsons spent two days arranging to have the wedding moved from the glacial lake several hours away to the San Francisco Bay Area. The sun was an eerie blood orange and the floats and boats in the lake were obscured by haze. However, the smoke caused most of the community to leave.
South of Tahoe, Rick Nelson and his wife, Diane, had planned to host a weekend wedding at Fallen Leaf Lake, where his daughter and her fiance met. Trejo, who uses supplemental oxygen due to respiratory problems, said her husband wanted to keep gambling. Sitting at a slot machine near a window looking out at cars driving through the haze, Ramona Trejo said she and her husband would stay for their 50th wedding anniversary, as planned. Inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, cocktail waitresses served customers playing slots and blackjack. The fire was eating its way through rugged timberlands and was "knocking on the door" of the Lake Tahoe basin, California's state fire chief Thom Porter warned this week.Īsh rained down on Tuesday and tourists ducked into cafes, outdoor gear shops and casinos on Lake Tahoe Boulevard for a respite from the unhealthy air. The fire was less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the lake that straddles the California-Nevada state line. The Caldor Fire advanced toward Lake Tahoe on Wednesday as thousands of firefighters tried to box in the flames and tourists who hoped to boat or swim found themselves looking at thick yellow haze instead of alpine scenery. Above, the fire burns along a ridge close to Mormon Emigrant Trail on August 19 in Pollock Pines, California. The Caldor Fire is advancing toward Lake Tahoe on August 25, 2021, outpacing firefighters and exhausting resources, fire officials said.