Desolation fire at 30 acres and holding
Updated 5:45pm:
Thirty acres of terrain above Cascade Lake have burned, and the fire is holding despite the afternoon winds.
The fire is burning in the Snow Lake area of the Desolation Wilderness near Emerald Bay. It started in the late afternoon Sept. 24. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but has been determined to be human-caused, according to the U.S. Forest Service. No further details are being released.
While USFS spokeswoman Cheva Gabor would not say this fire was started by an illegal campfire, she told Lake Tahoe News, “We’ve had an ongoing problem with illegal campfires in the Desolation Wilderness and Snow Lake is known to our wilderness rangers as a spot where local residents hike in on a user-created trail and have campfires.”
Smoke from the Snow Lake fire is visible on the South Shore. Photo/USFS
No structures are threatened at this time.
Lake Valley and CalFire crews were at the Spring Creek tract and Cascade properties Thursday morning in the event the fire spread. By the afternoon the precipitation had reduced that risk. Patrols will now be intermittent.
The U.S. Forest Service has closed Bayview, Eagle Falls, Tallac, Glen Alpine and Stanford Camp trailheads, Bayview Campground, Inspiration Point and the Taylor Creek Sno-Park. California State Parks has temporarily closed vehicle access to the Vikingsholm parking lot in the event it is needed for fire suppression equipment.
Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol have closed turnouts in the Highway 89 corridor from Spring Creek to the Vikingsholm parking lot to keep the highway traffic flowing to enable fire apparatus and crews ready access to the area. The fire is visible from Highway 89.
This wildfire is not related to the King Fire burning west of Lake Tahoe.
With the King Fire still burning, the Forest Service is asking people to remember that fire restrictions are still in place in the Lake Tahoe Basin and to abide by those restrictions. Fire restrictions mean that no open fires or campfires are allowed outside of campgrounds with an onsite host. Campfires are never allowed in the Desolation Wilderness, only portable stoves are allowed with a valid campfire permit.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
I hope they can get this fire out in Desolation. With the wind kicking up from the south west and headed in that direction today, it could blow into a heavily forested area. While the King fire is moving north, this wind, altho clearing the air here, it is now choking North Shore and Reno. KEEP AT IT FIRE FIGHTERS! OLS
I wish people would let go of the nostalgic approach to camping whereby you have a fire every time you camp. Unless you’re going to freeze to death, the risks are simply not justified.
“I wish people would let go of the nostalgic approach to camping whereby you have a fire every time you camp. Unless you’re going to freeze to death, the risks are simply not justified.”
The USFS says in the article that if it was a campfire- it was in fact illegal.
In this world of oversharing, I’d bet someone local knows the local that went camping back there. Facebook, Instagram photos anyone?
This is the third fire in one week in that area. I was in Desolation Wilderness in that area last week. While buying my permit, the USFS informed me of an illegal campfire that was dealt with by FS personnel at Fontanillis Lake on September 15, and did I still want to go there. On 9/17, while hiking to Dick’s Lake, another hiker and I reported an illegal campfire to the USFS at the west end of Dick’s Lake.
As if all agencies resources are not stretched to the limit already – this is unbelievable.
hey morons! quit smoking and lighting campfires in the backcountry.
Was just up there taking some snapshots of it from the bend and with this wind and continual direction change anything can happen.
Spring Creek residents were put on alert by the Sheriff’s Dept to stay alert
Fire and Rain. A small but quickly moving rain storm is near the Snow Lake fire in Desolation and looks to be headed north to the King Fire. Not alot of moisture in this front, but every drop helps. Keep your fingers crossed! OLS
Toxic, are you posting your photos of the fire anywhere? I’d like to see them.