California fire prompts evacuations; Oregon blaze balloons

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By DAISY NGUYEN and GILLIAN FLACCUS

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A rapidly growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe forced the evacuation of a mountain town and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada, leaving thousands of riders and spectators stranded Saturday and rushing to flee the area.

The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, exploded overnight to about 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) and was burning six miles (10 kilometers) south of Markleeville, a small town close to the California-Nevada state line. It has destroyed at least 3 structures, authorities said. A notice posted on the 103-mile (165-kilometer) Death Ride’s website said several communities in the area had been evacuated and ordered all riders to also evacuate immediately.

Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to pack up and leave. They had been watching smoke develop over the course of the day, but were caught off guard by the fire’s quick spread.

“It happened so fast,” Pennington said. “We left our tents, hammock and some foods, but we got most of our things, shoved our two kids in the car and left.”





Read more: https://apnews.com/article/science-environment-and-nature-oregon-weather-4730654e68e0f29d029cb9db8f709b87

[Champp]

1. Republicans: "This stuff is not climate change. It's caused by Hilary's emails."

[Rural_Progressive]

4. But, but, but

but Benghazi..........

[FirstLight]

2. my elder parents are 20 miles away...

in Gardnerville. While I know there's rough terrain and then lots of population density to be protected, the air quality etc still has me worried.

I told my dad to have a "bug out bag" ready

He's Mr Safety and always had us kids sleep with our shoes and a flashlight by the bed...so he gets it at least.

still not fun living in a tinder dry forest... Im only 25 miles away as the crow flies too
but big mountains in between...

[Unwind Your Mind]

3. We visited Gardnerville a couple years ago

We actually went over the pass from So Tahoe to buy a generator when we couldn’t find one anywhere near home.

It was a beautiful drive and that valley is just gorgeous. I hope your parents won’t have to run.

Best to you

[FirstLight]

5. Over Luther Pass?

That drive over and through Hope Valley is my favorite too...I think the fire is on the other ridge where the hwy splits and goes back over towards Markleeville.

There's a campground over there Ive always wanted to try out... hope it doesnt get razed

[NullTuples]

6. I think maybe the "Death Ride" just lost a bit of it's edginess.

Seriously though, I live in Ca and have lived with the increased fires since 2017-18. You evac when they say to evac and avoid the area if you don't live there. And you prep in case you ever have to evac.