CA Fires Burn 2M+ Acres In 2021, Caldor Fire Nearly 50% Contained

CALIFORNIA — Searing temperatures continued to bedevil some 15,000 firefighters on the front lines of 14 major blazes on Tuesday, but crews still managed to reach a significant milestone in beating back the explosive Caldor fire that sent tens of thousands fleeing from South Lake Tahoe last week.

Last year was California's largest wildfire season in state history, but this year could shatter that record. Since the beginning of 2021, more than 2 million acres have burned, and more than 7,100 wildfires have sparked in the Golden State.

The Caldor fire, which has devoured 216,646 acres, was nearly half contained as of Tuesday morning, Cal Fire reported. The fire has burned for more than three weeks and has left the Lake Tahoe resort region shrouded in smoke and overrun by bears, according to multiple news reports.

The fire, which grew explosively at times, was tamed enough over the weekend to allow fire agencies to lift mandatory evacuation orders for South Lake Tahoe's 22,000 residents on Sunday.

More than 24,600 structures remained threatened, with nearly 1,000 destroyed, Cal Fire reported.

The massive blaze has been "one of the most impactful events that I think we’ve ever seen here," said Mike Blankenheim, chief of the Amador-El Dorado unit of Cal Fire.

"The road back to some sense of normalcy for us is no doubt going to be long and no doubt going to have some challenges with it, but because of the efforts of this group here, ... that path has a solid anchor point, and we have a direction to go with that right now," Blankenheim told firefighters.

Meanwhile, the Dixie fire was on its way to becoming the largest fire in state history, according to Cal Fire. The blaze — burning across Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Tehama and Shasta counties — swelled to 917,579 acres on Tuesday and was 59 percent contained.

Smoke from the smoldering Northern California wildfires sent smoke over the Bay Area this week, prompting air quality officials to issue and extend a Spare the Air Alert through Tuesday.

"Climate change is impacting our region with more frequent wildfires and heat waves leading to poor air quality," said Veronica Eady, senior deputy executive officer of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. "We can all help by driving less to reduce smog and improve air quality when respiratory health is top of mind for us all."

A red flag warning was in effect from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday because of strong gusty winds and dry air for Siskiyou County from the Cascade Mountains east and south to Mt. Shasta-Modoc County. Across the rest of Northern California, winds were expected to pick up as unusually warm and dry conditions persisted, Cal Fire reported.

In Southern California, isolated and scattered rain and thunderstorms were expected in the mountains and deserts of the region. Temperatures in the Southland were expected to remain around 10 degrees above normal for the rest of the week. Cooler, more seasonable conditions were not expected until next week, according to Cal Fire.

Because of the critical fire weather, dozens of new blazes erupted across the state over the weekend. Crews were able to quickly extinguish all but four of those fires, Cal Fire reported.

The first death of the 2021 wildfire season was reported Sunday when a firefighter assigned to the Golden State's largest wildfire — the Dixie fire — died of an undisclosed illness, authorities said Sunday. No other details were available.

SEE ALSO: CA Wildfires: How To Check If Your Home Was Damaged

California has experienced increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West much warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists have said weather will continue to be more extreme and wildfires more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.

Fires Of Interest Burning In The Golden State

Bridge Fire: Placer County, Northeast Of Auburn

• 411 acres, 25 percent contained.
• Evacuation warnings remain in place.
• Road closures in the area.

Caldor Fire: El Dorado County, South Of Grizzly Flats — El Dorado National Forest

• 216,646 acres, 49 percent contained.
• Nearly 27,000 structures threatened.
• 729 structures destroyed.
• Evacuation orders and warnings remain in place, new evacuation orders issued.
• Repopulation is ongoing where it's safe to do so.

Dixie Fire: Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Tehama And Shasta Counties

• 917,579 acres, 59 percent contained.
• Nearly 6,000 structures threatened.
• More than 1,282 structures destroyed (14th most destructive wildfire).
• Evacuation orders and warnings in place for multiple communities.
• Unified Command of Cal Fire, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service.

French Fire: Kern County — Sequoia National Forest

• 26,745 acres, 65 percent contained.
• Evacuation orders in place.

Monument Fire: Trinity County, Five Miles West Of Big Bar — Shasta-Trinity National Forest

• 184,142 acres, 41 percent contained.

Federal Incidents

Antelope Fire: Siskiyou County, Five Miles South Of Tennant — Klamath National Forest

• 71,512 acres, 83 percent contained.

Knob Fire: Humboldt County, Two Miles South Of Willow Creek — Six Rivers National Forest

• 2,414 acres, 89 percent contained.
• Evacuations in progress.

McFarland Fire: Shasta, Trinity And Tehama Counties — Shasta-Trinity National Forest

• 122,653 acres, 98 percent contained.

River Complex: Siskiyou County, Seven Miles West Of Callahan — Klamath National Forest

• 135,689 acres, 19 percent contained.
• Complex comprised 23 fires; 16 fires contained
• Evacuation orders in place.

McCash Fire: Siskiyou County, Ten Bear Mountain McCash Creek — Six Rivers National Forest

• 54,385 acres, 13 percent contained.

Walkers Fire: Tulare County, 16 Miles Northeast Of Springville — Sequoia National Forest

• 8,719 acres, 58 percent contained.

Beckwourth Complex: Lassen/Plumas Counties, Northeast Of Beckwourth — Plumas National Forest

• 105,670 acres, 98 percent contained.
• 23 structures damaged.
• 148 structures destroyed.

Tamarack Fire: Alpine County, South Of Gardnerville — Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

• 68,637 acres, 82 percent contained.

Extended Attack Incident

Caballo Fire: Santa Barbara County, Los Olivos

• 40 acres, 70 percent contained.
• Ground resources continue to mop-up and strengthen control line Evacuation orders have been lifted.

Aruba Fire: San Diego County, Southeast Of The Community Of Rainbow

• 54 acres, 75 percent contained.

K-Rail Fire: Humboldt County, Southeast Of Hoopa

• 19 acres, 75 percent contained.

Lawrence Fire: Amador County, Northeast Of Fiddletown

• 46 acres, 100 percent contained.

Railroad Fire: San Bernardino County, Off Interstate 15 In The Cajon Pass — San Bernardino National Forest

• 61 acres, 95 percent contained.

Roadside Fire: San Bernardino County, Cajon Pass – San Bernardino National Forest

• 50 acres, 60 percent contained.

Washington Fire: Tuolumne County, West Of Sonora

• 100 acres, 85 percent contained.

READ MORE:

• 4 Key Things To Know About CA's 2021 Wildfire Season
• PG&E Says Its Equipment May Have Sparked NorCal Fire

The Associated Press contributed to this report.