Wildland Firefighting

Firefighters are making progress on a California wildfire threatening South Lake Tahoe, officials said Saturday, lifting hopes for tens of thousands of residents who are waiting this weekend to return to the resort town.

U.S. wildfire managers have started shifting from seasonal to full-time firefighting crews to deal with what has become a year-round wildfire season as climate change has made the American West warmer and drier.

Tens of thousands of South Lake Tahoe residents are watching hopefully this weekend for a chance to return home as firefighters make progress against a threatening California fire that has turned their thriving resort into a ghost town.

Fire crews took advantage of decreasing winds to battle a California wildfire near popular Lake Tahoe and were even able to allow some people back to their homes.

Better weather on Thursday helped the battle against a huge California wildfire threatening communities around Lake Tahoe, but fire commanders warned firefighters to be prepared for ongoing dangers.

Impossible is not a word scientists like to use in this day and age of the climate crisis. Still, two weeks ago, many people who study wildfires in California thought the odds of the Caldor Fire reaching the Lake Tahoe basin were slim, if not unlikely.

While most of his neighbors fled South Lake Tahoe as a major wildfire charged closer to town, Tod Johnson stayed put.

Firefighters reported progress in the battle to save communities on the south end of Lake Tahoe from an approaching forest fire.

"One more COVID firefighter getting sick could take out our actions to protect the community and the people we're here to serve."

A wildfire burning a few miles north of Moscow, Idaho, was threatening buildings and prompting mandatory evacuations, officials said.