Seen in the foothills (Part IV): After the Caldor Fire

Looking northeast across the Middle Fork of the
Cosumnes River gulch, El Dorado County, California,
where the Caldor Fire started on August 14, 2021

My family owns property in El Dorado County, California--and that property happens to be about four miles from where the Caldor Fire started more than three weeks ago in the gulch of the Middle Fork of the Cosumnes River.  For most of the time the fire has been active, it has burned in an easterly and northerly direction, away from my property.  Most recently it threatened the town of South Lake Tahoe, perhaps 80 miles away by road, but not that far as the crow flies and and as the fire has burned.  

Though the more immediate threat has been to points north and east--the tiny town of Grizzly Flats was leveled a few days after the fire started--my family's property was nevertheless under a mandatory evacuation order until three days ago.  Today we went up to see the lay of the land, knowing based on the fire and containment maps that we've followed closely every day for weeks that the fire was stopped by a dozer line at the top of the ridge behind our cabin, less than a mile from our property.  Sure enough, our property--and indeed all of our views--were entirely unscathed.    

FairPlay Road, Somerset, September 6, 2021

Our property is in the wine-producing region of FairPlay, a subset or community within the area known as Somerset (that's where the nearest post office is).  All along the road on the way there we saw many signs thanking firefighters and "LEOs," which we ultimately deduced stood for "Law Enforcement Officers."  One sign said "Firefighters and Law Enforcement," but another just said "Firefighters and Law," which you can see above.  Given that rural folks like my El Dorado County neighbors have a reputation for antipathy to the state and thus to the law, I found that an interesting abbreviation in that it seems to mislead. It also highlights the difference between "law," which is kinda' abstract--and law enforcement--real live folks who help, especially in times of crises like wildfires.    

FairPlay Road, Mt. Aukum, California, Sept. 6, 2021

(c) Lisa R. Pruitt 2021

We also saw many FairPlay properties with signs signaling to fire fighters that ponds or water storage tanks were available to fight the fire, should it reach those properties.  When we built our off-the-grid cabin in FairPlay in 2010, the county required us to include a 5000 gallon storage tank for just this purpose.  Needless to say, no fire hydrants nearby. 

Slug Gulch Road, Somerset, California
looking north across canyon Middle Fork of Cosumnes
where Caldor Fire started August 14, 2021

I also took some photos of the area where the fire started, on the south side of the Middle Fork of the Cosumnes, like the one above.  We saw several homes saved (like the one in the top photo), though the fire had burned right up to the structures.  A lot of coverage of these fires has indicated a focus on saving structures, a strategy that has largely been successful, including in Christmas Valley, where Highway 89 meets Highway 50 in the Lake Tahoe Basin.  No homes were lost as the fire blazed down Echo Pass and to that community a week ago.     

Mt. Aukum Road/E16
near Gray's Corner, at FairPlay Road

All photos (c) Lisa R. Pruitt, Sept. 6, 2021.