The Caldor fire tripled in size in a single night three days after it started and has burned 6,500 acres about 60 miles east of Sacramento. Communities in the mountainous terrain east of Placerville were evacuated.
SACRAMENTO, California. – The Caldor fire grew Monday night rapidly in El Dorado County, prompting the evacuation of some communities located east of Sacramento in the Sierra Nevada.
The Grizzly Flats, Happy Valley and Sly Park areas and others south of Highway 50 received evacuation orders overnight Monday and Tuesday morning. On Tuesday, just after 1:00 pm, the El Dorado County Sheriff reported the evacuation of the Pollock Pines city area south of Highway 50 and east of Sly Park road.
El Dorado County has set up a tool that warns about evacuations. In this link, you can see which areas are under warnings or orders to evacuate, and you can search the status of an address.
In the latest Cal Fire update, officials said the fire had burned 6,500 acres and continues with zero per cent containment. Cal Fire and the Forest Service said the Caldor fire threatened more than 2,000 structures, and two people were injured in connection with the fire. Flames destroyed an elementary school in the Grizzly Flats community.
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in El Dorado County, just as he did for Lassen and Trinity counties this morning due to other wildfires. The action allows the mobilization of state emergency personnel and federal funds and support.