Several Lake Tahoe resorts closed due to wildfire threat

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As flames from Northern California wildfires continue to threaten national forest land, some resorts around Lake Tahoe are closing temporarily.

Resorts, campgrounds and beaches situated on Forest Service land are closed through Sep. 6 due to the threat from the nearby Caldor Fire.

The Zephyr Cove Resort, Meeks Bay Resort, and Camp Richardson, all posted messages on their websites informing guests of the closures that took effect Sunday.

"Due to wildfire threat, Camp Richardson Resort will be closed beginning Sunday, August 22 at midnight through Monday, September 6.," the resort's website read.

The air quality near Lake Tahoe was the most polluted in North America, according to readings from Tuesday.

Since the Caldor Fire broke out on Aug. 14 in the Sierra Nevada, southwest of Lake Tahoe, it has destroyed at least 455 homes and burned more than 117,000 acres in El Dorado County.

Just 9% contained and a threat to more than 17,000 structures, the Caldor Fire has become the nation’s No. 1 priority for firefighting resources, Chief Thom Porter, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said during a briefing on Monday.

"It is knocking on the door to the Lake Tahoe basin," he said. "We have all efforts in place to keep it out of the basin, but we do need to also be aware that is a possibility based on the way the fires have been burning."

Porter said wildfire activity this season has been unpredictable and pointed to the Dixie Fire in the Sierra-Cascades region that is still burning out of control.

"Mother Nature has taken over and taken fires like the Dixie to places that I never thought was possible," he said.

The blaze has been burning for over a month with containment at 41%.