Early Reports Show Caldor Fire Damage at Sierra-at-Tahoe
The Caldor Fire burned through the summit above South Lake Tahoe on Sunday night, including the beloved Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort. While webcam footage clearly showed the flames at the resort overnight, reports indicate that only limited damage was seen there, including the destruction of one building.
Photographer Josh Edelson was on the scene as the fire burned through the resort. His photos show the flames surrounding the lifts and snowmaking machines blasting water on the beloved ski runs:
While the photos look grim, early reports say that seemingly little damage was done to the resort. According to Edelson, one building definitely burned, but the other infrastructure remained intact overnight.
“1 concrete garage type structure burned @ Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort per @JoshEdelson,” wrote CA Fire Scanner on Twitter. “AA was there doing recon & reported the structures appeared fine/intact in their opinion, including lifts + bldgs @ bottom of slopes. Bit of heat around them tho.”
#CaldorFire (El Dorado Co) – 1 concrete garage type structure burned @ Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort per @JoshEdelson. AA was there doing recon & reported the structures appeared fine/intact in their opinion, including lifts + bldgs @ bottom of slopes. Bit of heat around them tho.
— CA Fire Scanner (@CAFireScanner) August 30, 2021
When questioned on Twitter, Edelson revealed that the building burned was the “concrete structure with 5-6 garages,” pictured here:
From the outset, that building appears to be the one near the bottom of the Broadway run, near the main lodge. That has yet to be confirmed by fire or Sierra-at-Tahoe officials.
With strong winds forecast for Monday an Tuesday, anything could happen at Sierra-at-Tahoe. But for now, it seems like the worst situation possible (i.e. loss of lodges, chair lifts) was avoided.
