Source: The Mercury News
The fire, which started on Saturday, August 14, 2021, in the Omo Ranch area, located 60 miles east of Sacramento, exploded Tuesday morning from 6,500 acres to 53,772 acres in less than 24 hours. The Caldor fire is now the second-largest wildfire burning in California after growing more than 23,500 acres following the august complex fire.
The Caldor fire currently consuming northern California has exploded geometrically and has burnt over 53,700 acres. Houses have been reduced to ashes with very little to salvage. Although a few homes were left standing, over a thousand people are found littering as they have been rendered homeless and jobless as their places of business have been engulfed in the rapidly consuming fire. The elementary school and post office were not excluded from the heart-wrenching destruction.
The rapidly expanding wildfire has already seriously injured two people and prompted a mandatory evacuation order on Tuesday evening for the thousands of residents and tourists in El Dorado County. Reports have it that one of the victims was found in the grizzly flats on Tuesday while the other had walked up to the firefighters to ask for help.
Although the victims’ names and severity of the injuries have been withheld, both patients were transported by air ambulances to the hospital where they are receiving treatments. On Tuesday, August 17, 2021, Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, announced a state of emergency for El Dorado County as the fire threatens their powerline and electric and communication grids, as well as various state infrastructures.
The blazing destruction of the grizzly flats came from the hazardously dry, warm and windy weather condition combined with dry fuel, which caused the fire to triple and consume 47,200 acres in 24 hours. However, the leading cause of the fire has not been established by the firemen, but officials estimate it will be fully contained by August 21. In addition, meteorologists have warned that a shift in the wind direction expected across Northern California on Tuesday night could aggravate the existing fires and push the wildfire smoke to the San Francisco bay area.
With over a thousand more structures in the path of the raging fire, which as of Wednesday, August 18, 2021, could not be contained and had tripled in size, the firemen crew are focused on controlling the damages. Many neighborhoods and communities along the wildfire’s path have been forced to evacuate the areas. Such areas include Grizzly Flat, Perry Creek, and Hawk Haven. Fire officials have warned residents to keep an eye on the fire’s movement and be ready to evacuate as soon as they get the message to do so. The Red Cross has jumped to action by opening an evacuation shelter at the Green Valley Community Church in the city of Placerville and accommodating to the full of their capacity. Another shelter at Cameron Park, Community Services District, is taking displaced residents. Also, all the hotels located in the surrounding area have been fully booked.
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