Tuesday morning's Fire Information for Resource Management System map shows hotspots five miles from the Nevada state line. The red may not be actual fire, but it is an indication of the route the fire could take.
Genoa, Nev. — Satellite mapping shows potential hot spots from the Caldor Fire around five miles of Douglas County this morning, according to the Fire Information for Resource Management System. As we saw with Tamarack, that doesn’t always translate into actual fire, but it does show where the fire wants to go.
Lake Tahoe residents of Douglas County who were caught by the road closures were able to get home on Monday afternoon, thanks to efforts by Sheriff Dan Coverley, Commissioner Wes Rice and County Manager Patrick Cates, according to my source. I heard the Sheriff on the scanner working to get Kingsbury reopened.
If there’s a road to Tahoe anywhere near the Caldor Fire, assume it’s closed this morning. Highway 50, Kingsbury, Highway 28 are all closed in Douglas County. Highway 88 is closed at Pickett’s Junction in Hope Valley.
The state is going to pave Muller Lane so it will be down to one lane 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and Wednesday. Expect delays of a half-hour through there or take Mottsville or Genoa lanes, which go pretty much the same place without the delay.
School’s out for the week at Lake Tahoe due to the fire. The school district in South Lake Tahoe is moving some of its equipment to Douglas to keep it safe. The Zephyr Cove library is closed, too. Barton Memorial Hospital is closed and its patients are being transferred elsewhere.
Air quality in the Gardnerville Ranchos is literally red lining this morning, while Minden has gone past purple and straight to mauve at 472, or hazardous. If you don’t have to go outside, don’t. Visibility at the airport is around 2 miles this morning.
The red flag warning for most of the Sierra north of Bridgeport was extended to 11 p.m. Wednesday. There wasn’t much in the way of wind on Monday in Carson Valley with the airport clocking a 23-mph gust around 6:30 p.m.
The warning remains in effect through 11 p.m. Wednesday for dry conditions and gusty winds, which won’t help efforts to fight fires. We could see southwest winds 15-20 mph gusting to 30 mph in the Valley today. The high is expected to hit 89 degrees, but don’t be surprised if it’s cooler.
Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Reach him at khildebrand@recordcourier.com
