200-acre Emerald Fire at Lake Tahoe slowed by rain

Bill Gabbert
October 14, 2016

map Emerald Fire — Map showing heat detected by a satellite over the Emerald Fire at 2:16 a.m. PDT October 14, 2016. The fire is much smaller than indicated by the heat signatures, some of which were plotted in Cascade Lake and up to half a mile out into Lake Tahoe by the 375-meter fire detection system on the MODIS satellite.

The Emerald Fire was reported at 1:28 a.m. PDT October 14 on the south end of Lake Tahoe in California near Emerald Bay. Pushed by 20 to 25 mph winds gusting up to 55 mph it quickly spread through the night and by daylight was estimated at 200 acres by CAL FIRE. Mandatory evacuations were ordered affecting 500 residences and another 500 were listed as voluntary.

However by 6 a.m. on Friday light rain began as a wet air mass moved into the area. As of 11 a.m. a quarter inch of precipitation had been measured at the South Lake Tahoe weather station.