County Thursday morning for the Caldor Fire, and warnings have expanded into Alpine County.

The new orders are on the east side of the fire from Twin Bridges east to Echo Summit, running north from Highway 50 to Flag Pole Peak and south to the Amador/Alpine County line.

The new warnings include Christmas Valley and the southern part of the town of Meyers, but no parts of South Lake Tahoe. See the El Dorado County evacuation map for an updated look at where evacuation orders and warnings are in the county.

Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter said on Monday that the Caldor Fire is now the top priority for firefighting resources around the country, but "knocking on the door to the Lake Tahoe Basin." The northeast side of the fire continues to grow south of Highway 50 and remains active.

Ash is raining down on Lake Tahoe and thick yellow wildfire smoke is blotting out its famous postcard views of mountains surrounding pristine blue waters. Firefighters are working to keep the Caldor Fire from spreading into the treasured alpine vacation spot.

"I get a lot of calls from people that are worried about the smoke in our basin and what I tell them is that they should know that we are in lockstep and we will have enough notice to do what we need to know if those situations arise," South Lake Tahoe City Manager Joe Irvin said. "That being said, these firefighters are attacking this in an excellent manner."

The southeasterly winds that have been pushing the fire to the east are forecast to calm heading into the weekend, though that will also bring warmer and drier conditions. Fire officials said firing operations, especially on the east side, could create more smoke over the next few days.

As resources move to the fire, officials say there's a traffic jam of firefighters, engines and other resources from around the country arriving at the base camp.

"That's a good thing," said Cal Fire Incident Commander Jeff Veik. "When we have a traffic jam at our base camp, we're able to set up, to establish long term logistics to support the incident. It's going to take upwards of 3,000 to 5,000 personnel to ultimately suppress this fire."

Right now, about 2,800 personnel are working the fire. Cal Fire Incident Commander Dusty Martin said on Wednesday the extra resources have helped firefighters get some containment on the fire. The fire is 12% contained and has burned 136,643 acres as of Thursday morning.

"We're starting to see the fruits of those labors," Martin said. "We're starting to gain ground on this fire and it's making a difference."

While some parts of the southwestern edge of the fire near areas like Grizzly Flats, the town where many homes were destroyed a week ago, are now contained. But fire officials stressed it's still not safe for residents to return, as changes to conditions could put other areas like Pollock Pines closer to Highway 50 in danger.

Highway 50 remains closed between Sly Park Road and the highways 50/89 roundabout in Meyers after it was shut down Friday. There is no estimate when the road will reopen. There is no timeline to allow the more than 24,000 people evacuated to return home.

At least 643 structures have been destroyed, including 465 single homes, 11 commercial properties and 167 other minor structures, though damage assessment isn't complete. Around 17,488 structures remain threatened by the fire. While damage assessment is still ongoing, officials have released a preliminary structure damage map. The data shown on the map is subject to change as information is verified and gathered.

Now at 136,643 acres as of Thursday morning, the Caldor Fire grew explosively shortly after starting the evening of Aug. 14 south of Pollock Pines. The town of Grizzly Flats has been devastated and at least two people have been injured. The fire is 12% contained.

Here's the latest information on the fire, evacuations, damages and closures. Information is changing quickly, so please check with local first responders for the most up-to-date information.

• Size and containment
• Evacuations and emergency alerts
• Where to get information
• Damages and injuries
• Closures

Size and containment

136,643 acres and 12% contained as of 7 a.m. Aug. 26.

Cal Fire updates acreage and containment numbers around 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day.

"We know this fire has done things that nobody could have predicted. But that's how firefighting has been in the state this year," said Eldorado National Forest supervisor Jeff Marsolais Aug. 17. "I've spent the past four weeks in the North State and every time a fire broke out it outpaced our models two to one. We're seeing the same again here."

Find a map of wildfires in California here.

Evacuations and emergency alerts

According to the California Office of Emergency Services, more than 24,000 people are evacuated in El Dorado County. The fire is still very active, and officials stressed Sunday that evacuation orders and warnings will not be lifted anytime soon. On Aug. 26, fire officials said it could be one to two weeks before some people are allowed back into areas under mandatory evacuations.

The El Dorado Community Foundation has an application for emergency relief funds here.

The El Dorado County Registrar has put out information for how evacuated residents can vote in the recall election.

Here's how to sign up for emergency alerts:

• El Dorado County Emergency Alert Sign Up (Call 530-621-7440 for assistance)
• Amador County Emergency Alert Sign Up

Here’s where you can find the latest information on evacuations:

• El Dorado County Evacuation Map
• Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Twitter
• Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Facebook
• Eldorado National Forest Facebook
• Amador County Sheriff's Office Facebook

Evacuation orders are in effect for the following areas:

• Areas south of Farnham Ridge Road and east of Bridgeport School Road to the Amador County line.
• Grizzly Flat: The areas on Grizzly Flats Road east of Kendra Way into Grizzly
• Flats Proper. The areas of Diamond Railroad Grade, Old School House, Sweeney Road, Caldor Road, and Steely Ridge.
• Grizzly Flats Road east of four corners in Somerset into Grizzly Flats Proper.
• The areas of Myers Lane, Varmet Ridge Road, Rodwell Canyon Road, Snowbird Lane, and Mehwald Lane.
• East of Sly Park Road between Highway 50 and Mormon Emigrant Trail to Ice House Road. This includes the communities of Pacific House and Fresh Pond.
• North of Highway 50, east of Forebay Road to Ice House Road.
• Intersection of Perry Creek and Hawk Haven, the East side of Fairplay Road from Perry Creek South to Cedarville Road. This includes Slug Gulch, Omo Ranch, and all roads off of Slug Gulch and Omo Ranch.
• All roads off of Omo Ranch from Cedarville Road to Hwy 88.
• The area between Highway 88 and Mormon Emigrant Trail
• South of Highway 50 from Snows Road to Ice House Road.
• Between Highway 50 and Slab Creek from Snows Road to Ice House Road.
• South of Highway 50 from Ice House Road to Silver Fork Road. This includes the community of Kyburz.
• North of Highway 50 from Ice House Road to Silver Fork Road to include Ice House Reservoir, Union Valley Reservoir, and Loon Lake.
• Silver Fork Road in Kyburz east to Twin Bridges.
• North and south in a line extending from Twin Bridges to the Placer County line and south to the Amador County line.
• New Aug. 26: From Twin Bridges east to Echo Summit
• New Aug. 26: From Highway 50 south to the Amador/Alpine County line
• New Aug. 26: From Highway 50 north to Flag Pole Peak

Evacuation warnings are in effect for the following areas:

El Dorado County

• North of Slab Creek to Wentworth Springs Road between Sand Mountain and Loon Lake.
• Mosquito Road from the bridge North to include the Community of Swansboro.
• North of Highway 50 to Slab Creek between Smith Flat and Snows Road.
• South of Highway 50 to Pleasant Valley between Smith Flat and Snows Road, and North of Pleasant Valley between Holm and Newtown.
• South of Pleasant Valley between Bucks Bar Road and Newtown Road, East of Bucks Bar Road to Mt Aukum Road.
• Southwest of Bucks Bar Road to Ladies Valley Road including the community of Outingdale, Ant Hill Road, Perry Creek Road and Sand Ridge between Ladies Valley Road and Bucks Bar Road.
• East of Mt Aukum Road (E16) from Bucks Bar Road to Omo Ranch Road. North of Omo Ranch Road to the intersection of Omo Ranch Road and Fairplay Road.
• South of Omo Ranch to the El Dorado County Line between Mt Aukum Road (E16) and Fairplay Road to include Coyoteville Road, Cedar Creek and all tributary roads.
• From the evacuation order line in Twin Bridges east to the Echo Summit and from Highway 50 south to the Amador and Alpine County lines and north to the Placer County line.
• Dry Lakes Section: This section is north of Wentworth Springs Road up to the Placer County line and the remaining section of El Dorado County south of Placer County to Loon Lake.
• New Aug. 26: Christmas Valley from Highway 89 west to Echo Summit.
• New Aug. 26: Highway 89 due west to Watershed Ridge and south to the Amador/El Dorado County line.

Alpine County

• New Aug. 26: Highway 89 South from Luther Pass Road to the Pickets Junction (Highway 88).
• New Aug. 26: West on Highway 88 to Kirkwood.

Amador County

See more in this Facebook post

• Shenandoah Road at the Amador County line west through the River Pines community, continuing west on Shenandoah Road to Ostrom Road.
• Southon Ostrom Road to Jibboom Street, West on Jibboom Street to Fiddletown Road. East on Fiddletown Road to Hale Road.
• South on Hale Road to ShakeRidge Road.
• East on Shake Ridge Road to Charleston Road.
• South on Charleston Road to the intersection of Charleston Road and Rams Horn Grade.
• Due east to Highway 88 at Tiger Creek Road.
• Tiger Creek Road east to Salt Springs Reservoir Road.
• East on Salt Springs Reservoir Road to the east end of the Salt Springs Reservoir.
• Due north from the east end of Salt Springs Reservoir to Highway 88.
• South of the El Dorado-Amador County line with a western border of Highway 88 due south to the east end of Salt Springs Reservoir.
• Southern border of the Calaveras County line.
• Eastern border of the Alpine County line.

Amador County Evacuation map as of 5 p.m., Aug. 20, 2021.

Evacuation Centers:

• Green Valley Community Church: 3500 Missouri Flat Road, Placerville, CA
• (temporary evacuation point) Amador County Fairgrounds: 18621 Sherwood Street, Plymouth, CA
• Rolling Hills Church: 800 White Rock Road, El Dorado Hills, CA
• Evelyn Bishop Hall: 600 South Church Street/Hwy 124, Ione, CA 95640
• Douglas County Community Center: 1329 Waterloo Lane, Gardnerville, NV 89410
• (FULL) Cameron Park CSD, 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park, CA 95682
• (CLOSED)Diamond Springs Fire Hall : 3734 China Garden Road, Diamond Springs, CA 95619

Animal Evacuation Centers:

Animal services calls should go to 530-621-7440 for small and large animal evacuations and sheltering in place in El Dorado County.

• SMALL ANIMAL SHELTER: El Dorado County Animal Services, 6435 Capitol Ave., Diamond Springs, CA — call (530)-621-5795
• LARGE ANIMAL SHELTER: Saureel Vineyards, 1140 Cold Springs Road, Placerville, CA 95667(For assistance, call 916-439-2268 or 530-306-3159.)
• (FULL) LARGE ANIMAL SHELTER: Amador County Fairgrounds, 18621 Sherwood Street, Plymouth, CA 95669 (Empire Street Gate)

You should prepare to evacuate as soon as you get an evacuation warning, and leave as soon as you get an evacuation order. Here are some tips to prepare before evacuating.

Officials also recommend not waiting for an evacuation order or warning and leaving as soon as you no longer feel comfortable in your home.

Sky Stone, a resident of Somerset southeast of Pollock Pines, said he woke up at 5:30 a.m. Aug. 17 to find his power out and multiple messages on his phone telling him to evacuate. Soon, El Dorado County Sheriff's vehicles were passing his home with sirens blaring.

"Everybody was just really shocked that it had changed direction in the middle of the night and headed back down the mountain because prior to that, it was on the other side of the hill, on the side of the road where it started and was burning up the hill," Stone said. "So nobody had any expectation that it would come back towards our neighborhood or wipe out Grizzly Flats up above. That's really shocking."

Where to get information

The official sources of information are the U.S. Forest Services' Inciweb incident page and the Cal Fire incident page.

You can also follow these social media accounts:

• Eldorado National Forest Twitter
• Eldorado National Forest Facebook
• El Dorado County Sheriff's Office Facebook
• Amador County Sheriff's Office Facebook
• Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Twitter
• Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Facebook
• Amador County Sheriff’s Office hotline: ​​(209) 223-6286 or (209) 223-6294

You can call the Cal Fire public information line for the Caldor Fire at (530) 303-2455.

The Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit is hosting community meetings via Facebook live at 5 p.m. each night for residents affected by the Caldor Fire. You can join here.

Damages and injuries

At least 643 structures have been destroyed, including 465 homes, 11 commercial properties and 167 other minor structures, though damage assessment is not complete. 17,488 structures are threatened as of 7 a.m. Aug. 26.

While damage assessment is still ongoing, officials have released a preliminary structure damage map. The data shown on the map is subject to change as information is verified and gathered.

CapRadio and other reporters on the scene confirmed that the Grizzly Flats area has been devastated by the fire, with additional damage in the Somerset and Omo Ranch areas. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in El Dorado County.

According to Cal Fire, two people were injured near Grizzly Flats in separate incidents and transported by air ambulance to local hospitals. One person had serious injuries.

Closures

Caltrans closed Highway 50 between Sly Park Road and Meyers Friday at 4:30 p.m. Some offramps that had been closed are reopened to allow drivers to turn around. Officials do not expect the highway to reopen in the near future.

Check Caltrans' QuickMap for the most updated information on road closures.

The Eldorado National Forest announced a forest-wide closure starting Wednesday morning to last until Sep. 30.

The El Dorado County Office of Education is updating a list of school closures here.

The following schools will be closed through Friday, August 20:

• Pioneer Union School District - all sites

The following will be closed through Friday, September 3:

• Camino Union School District - all sites
• Gold Oak Union School District - all sites
• Indian Diggings School District - all sites
• Pollock Pines Elementary School District - all sites (closed until Sept. 7)
• Silver Fork School District - all sites