Crews Brace for Extra Excessive Hearth Habits Close to Hwy 395 – CBS San Francisco
ALPINE COUNTY (CBS SF / AP) – Firefighters south of Lake Tahoe faced another busy day of heat and extreme fire behavior along the state line as they battled the still-growing Tamarack Fire on Friday.
The Tamarack Fire south of Lake Tahoe grew approximately 7,000 acres on Thursday to 58,417 acres on Friday morning. The fire burned more than 78 square miles of wood and head-high chaparral in the national forest area. It broke out on July 4th and was one of nearly two dozen fires triggered by lightning strikes.
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ALSO READ: Tamarack Fire incident information
Although containment increased along the Carson River Road Corridor and parts of Diamond Valley Road, authorities said the crews on the east side of Highway 395 near Holbrook Junction continued to struggle.
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It was estimated that a point fire in the area has grown to 2,500 acres and established itself on the ridge northwest of Topaz Ranch Estates, a parish in Douglas County, Nevada.
Another 1,369 people were evacuated mainly from the Hwy 395 corridor, bringing the total number of people evacuated from the Tamarack Fire to 2,439.
Firefighters on the ground and in airplanes will face exceptionally difficult weather and fuel conditions on Friday. Temperatures were forecast at 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
The fire departments assume that the weather will continue to be hot, dry and unstable. The minimum humidity is 15-20% and on Friday afternoons and evenings, southwest winds of 10-15 miles per hour with gusts of up to 40 miles per hour are forecast along the ridges.
Terrain winds were expected for most of the day, with the exception of increasing northwest winds in the late afternoon and evening. Additionally, there is a chance that thunderstorms will return over the weekend and likely by early next week.
A Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue fire team shared a terrifying clip late Thursday that showed a truck nearly overwhelmed by a fast-moving point fire.
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* MUST SEE * Up close as the crew of a Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue brush engine escape the fire on either side of a wilderness dirt road triggered by a fast moving point fire while assisting a fire operation on the #TamarakFire . #TMFR #Wildfire # FireSeaaon2021 pic.twitter.com/gb2I5C4m23
– Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue (@TMFPD) July 23, 2021
The clip shows the truck surrounded on all sides by towering flames as it travels on a dirt road in the wilderness. Fortunately, the crew was able to get to safety.
Clips of crews in harrowing situations caused by the Tamarack and other forest fires are posted more frequently on social media as the fire season worsens. On Thursday, the UC Davis fire chief shared a similar video from inside the cab of a fire truck, which he described as “heartbreaking.”
UC Davis chief fire officer Nathan Trauernicht also shared a daytime clip Thursday that gave viewers an idea of the extent of the Tamarack fire, with the flames and smoke visible on a nearby hill above a threatened barn in the Foreground on the east side of the fire loomed.
Daily video from @ucdavisfire Brush 34 of the Yolo County’s strike team as they entered a housing estate yesterday to protect homes from the #TamarakFire. This is the “O” section on the east side of the fire. @ucdavis #ucdavis pic.twitter.com/Af4IxLxCTp
– Nathan Trauernicht (@FireChiefT) July 22, 2021
A total of 1,353 firefighters are currently deployed at Tamarack Fire. The Alpine County fire destroyed at least 10 buildings.
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© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
