Visitors Urged To Stay Away From Tahoe Over Caldor Fire Worries, Hazardous Air Quality
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (CBS13) — While South Lake Tahoe is not under any evacuation warning at the moment, officials are urging visitors to stay away due to the threat of the Caldor Fire.
The city has declared a local emergency and activated its Emergency Operations Center.
Lake Tahoe Unified School District is also postponing the start of the year until after Labor Day, citing the fire and hazardous air quality.
Tahoe and the surrounding area has been shrouded in smoke for weeks now. On Friday, the Air Quality Index rated the area as hazardous - while closer to the fire lines, it was off the charts. Near Diamond Springs, the AQI was at 1527 - and 1727 in Camino as of late Friday morning.
Residents of the Tahoe basin have been watching the Caldor Fire closely as the evacuation area expands. As of Friday, evacuation warnings are now right up to Echo Summit.
The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority has urged tourists to postpone any travel plans to the area for the time being.
Further, Red Hawk Casino announced on Friday that it would be closing out of an abundance of caution through Monday morning due to the bad air quality.
