mtdemocrat.com Mountain Democrat Friday, August 27, 2021
Flumes
A7
Continued from A2
third of EID’s drinking water supply to its customers. The canal and its flumes run through steep and often hard-to-reach terrain along the Highway 50 corridor. “At this time we are asking all customers to do what they can to continue to meet the 15% voluntary
water use reduction under the district’s ongoing Stage 1 water alert,” said EID General Manager Jim Abercrombie. When the Caldor Fire broke out, EID personnel began optimizing emergency water storage levels in its Forebay Reservoir in the event
the canal and flume system was damaged. The El Dorado Canal system is the primary means of supply to the northeastern portion of EID’s service area, including Pollock Pines and Camino, and also contributes significantly to supplying the rest
of the service area by gravity. The Apple Hill and Gold Hill agricultural areas, the city of Placerville, and communities west of Placerville to Cameron Park and upper El Dorado Hills are served jointly by water from the El Dorado Canal and Sly Park’s Jenkinson Lake.
Tahoe Continued from A2 A Red Cross evacuation shelter has been established in Gardnerville, Nev., at the Douglas County Community Center located at 1329 Waterloo Lane. Visit tinyurl.com/ edsoevac to view the evacuation map. Cal Fire and South Lake Tahoe officials held a community meeting Tuesday night at the Lake Tahoe Environmental Magnet School to discuss what action will be taken if the Caldore Fire reaches the Tahoe Basin. Multiple agencies were represented and several Lake Tahoe leaders were on hand to receive a fire update. The fire, which has grown larger than the footprint of Lake Tahoe, is about 15 miles away from the basin. Lake Valley Fire Chief Brad Zlendick said he and his agency have been keeping a close eye on the fire, including traveling to the fire’s command post everyday. “To say Lake Valley Fire is concerned is an understatement,” Zlendick said. “We’re concerned about the cabins on Echo Summit and the Meyers community.” He said neighbors need to work together and help each other out as much as possible if or when the time comes. Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Operations Chief Mike Blankenheim said there are two main firefighting priorities. One is the west edge where the fire is burning in steep drainage and is threatening a “whole bunch of communities,” he said. The other is the eastern edge nearest to Tahoe where he said growth had slowed but was still advancing. Jeff Marsolais, Eldorado National Forest supervisor, who previously spent 10 years as the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Supervisor, talked about the fire getting additional resources because it’s the top priority fire in the country. Cal Fire Incident Commander Jeff Vieck went more into detail about what it means being the top priority fire. He said it’s due to structures being threatened and dangerous fire growth. He said there are so many resources traveling in to help fight the fire that they had a traffic jam at base camp. “It’s going to take 3,000 to 5,000 people to ultimately suppress this fire,” he said. As of Thursday morning there are 2,897 personnel battling the fire with 243 engines, 27 water tenders, 21 helicopters, 80 hand crews and 51 dozers. Vieck said the Caldor Fire gets top priority with DC-10 bomber and helicopter flight missions. Officials reiterated that they are working to protect the residents, which is their top priority along with firefighter safety.
Hibernation is finally over. It’s time to get out and recline in the name of recovery. Because vacationing here helps get our economy moving again. So, head to the beach or go city hopping. Dine out and shop local. Heck, try a weekend of wine tasting. You can sip and swirl in the name of civic pride.
~ support your state by vacationing here ~
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