SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters battling a stubborn California wildfire Friday near the Lake Tahoe resort region faced gusty winds and dry conditions that made vegetation ready to burn.
The Caldor Fire has proved so difficult to fight that fire managers this week pushed back the projected date for full containment from early next week to Sept. 8. But even that estimate was tenuous.
“I think that’s going to be assessed on a day-by-day basis,” said Keith Wade, a spokesman for the incident management team.
A Northern California police officer who had been on his way to help with the fire died Thursday of injuries sustained in a head-on traffic collision, officials said Friday.
Galt Police Officer Harminder Grewal was gravely injured in the accident that sent him and his partner to the hospital on Sunday.
“He made the ultimate sacrifice while … responding to danger. Officer Grewal took pride in serving his community and his work ethic was contagious to all who worked with him,” the department said in a statement.
Grewal, 27, was a 2 1/2-year veteran who was the department’s “officer of the year” in 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement honoring him and ordering Capitol flags to half-staff.
Burning since Aug. 14 in the Sierra Nevada, the Caldor Fire has scorched nearly 144,000 acres, or 225 square miles, and remained only 12% contained Friday.
Flames churned through mountains just southwest of the Tahoe Basin, home to thousands and a playground for millions of tourists who visit the alpine lake in warmer months, ski at the many resorts in winter, and gamble at its casinos year-round. The area is blanketed in smoke at a time when summer vacations should be in full swing.
The fire’s eastern edge was about 7 or 8 miles from the city of South Lake Tahoe, said Robert Baird, a U.S. Forest Service director of fire and aviation management.