Over the past three weeks, the Caldor Fire has burned more than 200,000 acres in western California, and continues to push eastward, toward the resort city of South Lake Tahoe and the Nevada state line. Evacuation orders have been issued for South Lake Tahoe and the surrounding area, where tens of thousands of structures are threatened. More than 4,000 firefighters are working on the blaze, amid continued hot, dry, and windy conditions. The Caldor Fire is now listed as 20 percent contained, as it descends into the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Photos: California’s Caldor Fire Threatens South Lake Tahoe
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![A view of a house in a forest, completely consumed by fire, at night]()
Read moreFlames consume a home as the Caldor Fire pushes into South Lake Tahoe, California, on August 30, 2021. #
Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty -
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![An image of a forest fire - trees and the forest floor are aflame.]()
Read moreThe Caldor Fire burns in Strawberry, California, on August 28, 2021. #
Fred Greaves / Reuters -
![A snow-making machine sprays water into the air near a burning forest fire.]()
Read moreA snow-making machine blows water on a structure at the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort as the Caldor Fire moves through Twin Bridges, California, on August 30, 2021. #
Justin Sullivan / Getty -
![Smoke and a forest fire are seen near a chairlift.]()
Read moreA chairlift at the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort sits idle as the Caldor Fire moves through the area on August 30, 2021. #
Justin Sullivan / Getty -
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![Rising plumes of smoke are lit by burning fires below, seen on a distant hillside.]()
Read moreIn this long-exposure photograph, fire and smoke push into the Lake Tahoe region during the Caldor Fire near Tragedy Spring, California, on August 29, 2021. #
Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty -
![A firefighter walks in front of a hillside covered in burning brush.]()
Read moreA firefighter works as the Caldor Fire burns in Grizzly Flats, California, on August 22, 2021. #
Fred Greaves / Reuters -
![About a half-dozen firefighters walk in a line carrying tools and backpacks.]()
Read moreA U.S. Forest Service firefighter crew arrives at the scene where flames from the Caldor Fire threatened to jump Highway 50 in Meyers, California, on August 31, 2021. #
Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty -
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![A view of Lake Tahoe partially obscured by a very smoky sky]()
Read moreA view from Emerald Bay toward Lake Tahoe is obscured by smoke from the Caldor Fire on August 30, 2021. #
Fred Greaves / Reuters -
![Several houses and many trees go up in flames.]()
Read moreThe Caldor Fire burns homes along a ridge on August 30, 2021, near South Lake Tahoe. #
Justin Sullivan / Getty -
![An American flag can be seen on a house that is burning in a forest fire.]()
Read moreAn American flag burns along with a cabin in the Caldor Fire, near Phillips, California, on August 29, 2021. #
Fred Greaves / Reuters -
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![A smoky sky is seen above a recently burned hillside.]()
Read moreSpot fires burn amidst smoke from the Caldor Fire in Kyburz, California, on August 28, 2021. #
Fred Greaves / Reuters -
![A deer walks through a recently burned forest.]()
Read moreA deer walks in the ashes left by the Caldor Fire, which burned through Grizzly Flats, California, on August 18, 2021. #
Ethan Swope / AP -
![A low sun is seen behind a hilltop partially obscured by a smoky sky.]()
Read moreSmoke from the Caldor Fire fills the sky above a ridgetop near Kirkwood Ski Resort in California's Eldorado National Forest on August 31, 2021. #
Noah Berger / AP -
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![A long line of vehicles sit stuck in traffic beneath a smoky sky.]()
Read moreResidents are stuck in gridlock while attempting to evacuate as the Caldor Fire approaches in South Lake Tahoe on August 30, 2021. #
Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty -
![A man stands next to his vehicle playing a violin sitting in a long line of traffic.]()
Read moreMel Smothers, an evacuee, plays the violin as he waits in a miles-long traffic jam on Highway 50 as people evacuate ahead of the Caldor Fire on August 30, 2021, in South Lake Tahoe. #
Justin Sullivan / Getty -
![A person crosses an empty street beneath a smoky sky.]()
Read moreA woman crosses Highway 50 on August 31, 2021, in South Lake Tahoe, which has been evacuated because of the Caldor Fire's approach. #
Noah Berger / AP -
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![A pontoon boat floats in a lake with the hills in the background obscured by smoky sky.]()
Read moreSmoke from the Caldor Fire shrouds Fallen Leaf Lake near South Lake Tahoe, on August 24, 2021. #
Rich Pedroncelli / AP -
![A firefighter works in a very smoky forest.]()
Read moreSmoke generated by the Caldor Fire fills the air as a firefighter puts out a spot fire burning near South Lake Tahoe on August 31, 2021. #
Jae C. Hong / AP -
![Firefighters gather together near a road while fighting a forest fire.]()
Read moreCaptain Adam Tinker and his crew monitor a firing operation, in which crews burn vegetation to create a control line, while battling the Caldor Fire in California's Eldorado National Forest, on August 26, 2021. #
Noah Berger / AP -
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![A forest floor is consumed in flames.]()
Read moreThe Caldor Fire burns near the town of Sciots Camp, California, on August 28, 2021. #
Fred Greaves / Reuters -
![A firefighter wearing a mask and sunglasses looks toward a forest fire.]()
Read moreEsteban Gonzalez, a USFS firefighter, looks at part of the Caldor Fire burning, which is reflected in his glasses, near the town of Sciots Camp on August 28, 2021. #
Fred Greaves / Reuters -
![Several buildings go up in flames in the middle of a forest fire.]()
Read moreA cabin burns in the Caldor Fire near Phillips, California, on August 29, 2021. #
Fred Greaves / Reuters -
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![A fallen tree burns amid a larger forest fire.]()
Read moreA fallen tree burns in the Caldor Fire in Meyers, California, on August 31, 2021. #
Neal Waters / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![Two firefighters work on a forest fire at night.]()
Read moreNick Aguilar (center), a firefighter with the El Dorado County Fire Department, and his colleague Craig Hadley, work to douse flames from the Caldor Fire burning through trees in Christmas Valley near South Lake Tahoe, on August 31, 2021. #
Brittany Hosea-Small / Reuters -
![Many boats are seeing floating in a lake beneath a very smoky sky.]()
Read moreBoats sit anchored as smoke from the Caldor Fire fills the air in South Lake Tahoe on September 1, 2021. #
Jae C. Hong / AP -
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![A structure is seen completely wrapped in reflective foil material.]()
Read moreA home is completely wrapped in fire-resistant material to protect the property against the approaching Caldor Fire in Meyers, California, on September 1, 2021. #
Jae C. Hong / AP -
![An empty street stands beneath a smoky sky.]()
Read moreA view of empty streets, after a mandatory evacuation was announced because of the Caldor Fire, in South Lake Tahoe, on September 1, 2021 #
Aude Guerrucci / Reuters
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