The blaze burned 154 acres, coming very close to homes
Continue readingEmerald Fire burns more than 100 acres near Laguna Beach, California
Hundreds of residents were evacuated before dawn Thursday
Continue readingHazardous tree on the Emerald Fire
Above: Hazardous tree on the Emerald Fire. CAL FIRE Amador-El Dorado photo.
CAL FIRE described this as one of the “many enormous hazard trees on the Emerald Fire. This tree has nearly an eight-foot diameter.”
The Emerald Fire burned 176 acres on the south end of Lake Tahoe near Emerald Bay in California when it started on October 14. After being pushed initially by very strong winds gusting up to 55 mph the spread has been stopped by firefighters — and heavy precipitation. The removal of hazardous trees from Highway 89 and around residences is ongoing. Debris continues to impact the roadway due to the high winds and torrential rains.
200-acre Emerald Fire at Lake Tahoe slowed by rain
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.
The weather forecast for the area of the Emerald Fire includes 1.8 inches of precipitation over the next 48 hours.
Web cams for the area can be seen at Alerttahoe.seismo.unr.edu. Click on the Diamond Peak and Heavenly Ski Area cams.
