Caldor Fire in Eldorado County Friday night.

The new areas are:

• Pleasant Valley Road and all intersecting roads extending south from Newtown Road to the intersection of E-16 (Mt Aukum Road).
• All roads accessed from E-16 (Mt Aukum Road) between Pleasant Valley Road and Bucks Bar Road.
• This includes all roads and residences accessed from Moon-Shadow and Gopher Hole Road off Bucks Bar Road.

The order does not include the residences off Pleasant Valley Road West of Newtown Road to include Pleasant Valley Middle School, Michael Way, and all roads to Four Seasons Road. Residents evacuating the area should exit Westbound on Pleasant Valley Road or Northwest on Bucks Bar Road.

See the El Dorado County evacuation map for an updated look at where evacuation orders and warnings are in the county.

Firefighters made containment gains on the south edge of the Caldor Fire Friday, but the fire remained active in the northeast as forecasters eye potential red flag conditions early next week. As of Friday evening, the fire was 19% contained and had burned 145,463 acres.

Winds, temperatures and humidity are expected to stay low into Sunday, but incident meteorologist Jim Dudley said that could change Sunday night heading into Monday.

"You'll probably be hearing terms like possibly a red flag might be coming out this weekend for strong winds for Monday. It's not out right now," Dudley said at a Friday briefing.

Evacuation orders were added near Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County Thursday morning, and warnings expanded into Christmas Valley and the southern part of the town of Meyers, as well as Alpine County. No parts of South Lake Tahoe are under orders or warnings. See the El Dorado County evacuation map for an updated look at where evacuation orders and warnings are in the county.

Fire officials said Friday they are focused on keeping the fire from advancing further toward the Tahoe area.

"We're doing everything we can to ensure that it doesn't," said Eric Schwab, a Cal Fire operation section chief. "We're putting in multiple additional control lines that we can fall back on should this challenge us again."

Gusty winds and extremely dry conditions contributed fire spread on the northeast edge of the @CaldorFire. Flying embers caused spotting along Hwy 50. pic.twitter.com/O9B1ggjHIJ

— CAL FIRE AEU (@CALFIREAEU) August 27, 2021

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. Air quality is forecast to remain very unhealthy through the weekend.

Carol Chaplin, who heads the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, is a longtime resident of the area. She says smoke from two older wildfires — the Dixie and Tamarack — is also a contributing factor. She says if you were intending to visit Lake Tahoe this weekend, you'd be better off putting those plans on hold.

"Not only are we not used to having this kind of air quality right now, we are not used to having it loom over us for 30 or more days, I think is probably not an exaggeration," she said. "So, I've never seen it this bad."

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 on both sides of Highway 50 and remains active.

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 were no changes to evacuation warnings or orders Friday, and no timeline to allow the more than 24,000 people evacuated to return home.

At least 650 structures have been destroyed, including 469 single homes, 11 commercial properties and 170 other minor structures, though damage assessment isn't complete. Around 18,347 structures are 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.

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.

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

145,463 acres and 19% contained as of 7 p.m. Aug. 27.

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. Fire officials said it could be 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
• New Aug. 27: Pleasant Valley Road and all intersecting roads extending south from Newtown Road to the intersection of E-16 (Mt Aukum Road).
• New Aug. 27: All roads accessed from E-16 (Mt Aukum Road) between Pleasant Valley Road and Bucks Bar Road.
• New Aug. 27: This includes all roads and residences accessed from Moon-Shadow and Gopher Hole Road off Bucks Bar Road.

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 650 structures have been destroyed, including 469 homes, 11 commercial properties and 170 other minor structures, though damage assessment is not complete. 18,347 structures are threatened as of 7 a.m. Aug. 27.

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