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However, last week visitors were seeking shelter in casinos and other enclosed spaces, as smoke shrouded the area. Now, many visitors and residents are in vehicles, heading to safety in places such as Carson City. Some casinos this week began closing their gaming floors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On Monday, US Sen. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) tweeted her thanks to the casinos that housed \u201cthose in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Changing Climate<\/h2>\n
Since breaking out on Aug. 14, the Caldor Fire southwest of Lake Tahoe has burned through 277 square miles, an area larger than Chicago, according to news reports. As the fire inches closer to the lake, more than 600 structures have been destroyed, and at least 20,000 more are threatened.<\/p>\n
At Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, some buildings have been lost in the fire. The resort is south of the Fallen Leaf and Lower Echo Lakes.<\/strong><\/p>\nCalifornia Fire Chief Thom Porter said the fire early this week was \u201chung up\u201d in granite formations about six miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, according to the San Jose<\/i> Mercury News<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Crystal Kolden, a fire scientist at the University of California, Merced, said for a long time people have thought the granite wall would keep fires out of the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Los Angeles Times<\/i> reported.<\/p>\nBut this is a new world with climate change, and that basically is no longer a viable last line of defense,\u201d<\/strong> she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nKolden said homes at the lake have wooden shake roofs and wooden porches. Plus, the area has a buildup of pine cones and needles.<\/p>\n
“It’s so dry, that it is perfect kindling,” Kolden said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thousands of Lake Tahoe residents and visitors continued to flee the raging Caldor Fire, as flames threatened the popular casino and outdoor-recreation destination only days before the normally busy Labor Day weekend. In Nevada, Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) declared a state of emergency. He directed state agencies to assist in protecting lives and property at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":184393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Massive Wildfire Forces Evacuations at Smoke-Shrouded Lake Tahoe - Casino.org Massive Wildfire Forces Evacuations at Smoke-Shrouded Lake Tahoe<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n