Many Northern California Forests Closing As Caldor Fire Grows

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Sacramento, CA — Citing the dry conditions and high fire risk, nine federal forests in California are going to be closed to recreators after this weekend.

The closure order includes the Tahoe National Forest, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Plumas National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, Klamath National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Shasta Trinity National Forest and the Modoc National Forest. It takes effect at 11:59pm on Sunday and will continue through September 6 at 11:59pm.

Locally, the Stanislaus National Forest is NOT included in the closure order.

The federal action comes as the Caldor Fire continues to burn out of control in El Dorado County. As of this morning, it is 73,415 acres and there is no containment. Over 1,100 firefighters are assigned to the incident. 104 structures are destroyed. There are mandatory evacuation orders in parts of El Dorado County, and evacuation warnings continuing for some residents in Amador County.

Firefighters are spread thin in the state. The Dixie Fire, further north, is 699,666 acres and 35-percent contained.