<ul class="summary-list"><li>Residents were forced to evacuate to stay safe from the growing <keyword id="11985061" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="caldor-fire" source="Orion">Caldor Fire</keyword> in Northern <keyword id="11892889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="california" source="Orion">California</keyword>.</li><li>A <keyword id="11985062" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lake-tahoe" source="Orion">Lake Tahoe</keyword> violinist played his violin during standstill <keyword id="11895072" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="traffic" source="Orion">traffic</keyword> as evacuees fled.</li><li>The fire started on August 14. On Monday evening it was over 175,000 acres large and 14% contained.</li></ul>Violinist and Lake Tahoe resident Mel Smothers was captured on video playing his violin in the middle of standstill traffic as more than 22,000 residents flee from the growing Caldor Fire in Northern California, according to the <a href="https://twitter.com/sfchronicle/status/1432443358228582401">San Francisco Chronicle</a>.The fire, located east of Sacramento and south of Reno, had scorched 177,260 acres and was 14% contained, as of 6 p.m. local time on Monday, according to <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/8/14/caldor-fire/">Cal Fire</a>. Mandatory evacuation orders and evacuation warnings are in place for a majority of El Dorado County, California, according to the El Dorado County Sherriff's Department <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=c995bf3816964e948d7d831d3ba938ff&amp;extent=-13468934.1135%2C4653543.9996%2C-13379044.1683%2C4706285.5492%2C102100&amp;ltclid=9a9aab80-cd93-47ba-b7d3-edc118cb99cd18cb99cd">evacuation website</a>.South Lake Tahoe received evacuation orders on Monday. The flames had engulfed an additional 25,000 acres in a 24-hour time period, according to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fcaldor-fire-evacuation-warnings-expand-to-all-of-lake-tahoe-basin-11630342564">The Wall Street Journal</a>. There are currently 3,684 personnel, 25 helicopters, 353 engines, and others working to put out the blaze. The Caldor Fire began on August 14. The cause of the fire is to be determined.<h2>Watch the violinist here:</h2><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1432443358228582401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

Lake Tahoe resident and violinist plays while stuck in traffic as thousands flee from the Caldor Fire

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A video of the <keyword id="11985061" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="caldor-fire" source="Orion">Caldor fire</keyword> near <keyword id="11985062" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lake-tahoe" source="Orion">Lake Tahoe</keyword> shows an apocalyptic visual from <a href="https://www.insider.com/wildfire-season-chaparral-fire-san-diego-county-2021-8">this wildfire season.</a></li></ul>A video posted by TikTok user Lakeskate appears to show Lake Tahoe smothered in an orange haze as the Caldor <keyword id="11944993" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wildfire" source="Orion">wildfire</keyword> blazes nearby, with the sun beaming and reflecting as a red dot in the distance.<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@lakeskate/video/7000917194171370757" data-video-id="7000917194171370757" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@lakeskate" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lakeskate">@lakeskate</a> Lake Tahoe. Packed and ready to evacuate. Praying for all. <a title="tahoe" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tahoe">##tahoe</a> <a title="californiawildfire" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/californiawildfire">##californiawildfire</a> <a title="caldorfire" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/caldorfire">##caldorfire</a> <a title="tahome" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tahome">##tahome</a> <a title="wildfire" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wildfire">##wildfire</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - THXOC" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-6894843993637866246">♬ original sound - THXOC</a> </section> </blockquote> The video, posted on August 27 and viewed at least 1 million times, offers a concerning window into how close the fires are to South Lake Tahoe."Lake Tahoe. Packed and ready to evacuate. Praying for all," the user wrote in the caption.The Caldor <keyword id="11895343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fire" source="Orion">Fire</keyword> has <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/8/14/caldor-fire/">burned 156,515 acres outside Sacramento</a> since August 14, <a href="https://www.insider.com/wildfire-season-chaparral-fire-san-diego-county-2021-8">alongside nearby fires</a>, and it has become a regional priority to contain as it approaches South Lake Tahoe, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=235753634983434&amp;ref=watch_permalinklink">according</a> to Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter.This story is developing. Check back for updates.

Eerie video shows the Caldor Fire in California casting an ominous, orange haze over Lake Tahoe

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="11985061" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="caldor-fire" source="Orion">Caldor Fire</keyword> has prompted tens of thousands of evacuations and destroyed multiple structures.</li><li>But the inferno also poses a long-term threat to the waters of <keyword id="11985062" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lake-tahoe" source="Orion">Lake Tahoe</keyword>, researchers said.</li><li>Debris and sediment will likely wash into the lake in the coming months.</li></ul>Increasingly dismal conditions in the forested area surrounding the <a href="https://www.insider.com/photo-caldor-fire-near-lake-tahoe-prompts-mass-evacuations-2021-8">Caldor Fire in Northern California</a> have already begun to tarnish the famously blue, alpine waters of Lake Tahoe - and researchers say the long-term effects on the natural wonder are still unknown.The wildfire prompted a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lake-tahoe-evacuated-caldor-fire-remote-workers-pandemic-2021-8">series of evacuation orders and warnings</a> in the region this week as the flames spread rapidly through the region. As of Monday, the blaze had grown to more than 177,000 acres and forced more than 22,000 residents to flee.The massive fire has already injured at least five people and destroyed more than 650 structures since it began on August 14, Cal Fire said. At least forty homes have been damaged. But the inferno also poses a serious risk to the area's world-renowned scenery, including Lake Tahoe's crystal clear waters that have been clouded by Caldor's smoke and ash. Soot in the air has dimmed the sunlight and a thick layer now coats the surface of the lake, which can affect the water's ecosystemThe impacts could be long-lasting as debris and sediment will likely wash into the lake from runoff rain in the coming months."It's not going to turn the lake green or anything like that, in my opinion. But certainly the clarity of the lake, how deep you can see in the lake, could be affected for several years," Randy Dahlgren, emeritus professor of soils and biogeochemistry at the University of California, Davis told <a href="https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/08/lake-tahoe-fire/">Cal Matters.</a> "It all depends on Mother Nature."The popular vacation spot draws year-round tourists and is one of the largest lakes in the country at more than 1,600 feet deep. <div type="image" title="Two tourists paddle board on Lake Tahoe in 2019." height="1187" width="2376" msid="85820207" hostid="261"></div>"You can see almost 100 feet below the surface. It is one of the deepest lakes in the world," Sudeep Chandra, a biology professor and director of the Global Water Center at the University of Nevada, Reno told <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/nation/2021/08/30/lake-tahoe-clarity-economy-threatened-raging-caldor-fire/5657221001/">The Arizona Republic.</a> "From a cultural viewpoint, it is important for the native peoples. The Washoe Tribe lived in the basin. And now it is important for recreation and the local economy."But the fire conditions have already begun to impact the clarity of the water. The University of California, Davis' Tahoe Environmental Research Center's tests of the lake in recent days show a decline in visibility, according to Cal Matters. Geoffrey Schladow, director of the center, told the outlet visibility at this time of the year is usually 65 feet, but right now, experts can only see down about 50 feet.The changes could be due to smoke blocking the sunlight, ash clouding the waters, and an increase of algae growing near the lake's surface, Cal Matters reported. The Caldor Fire spread into the Lake Tahoe basin on Monday, just hours after the entire city of South Lake Tahoe was forced to evacuate ahead of the flames.Firefighters said Tuesday the fire will likely take <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/caldor-fire-lake-tahoe-containment-estimated-september-2021-8">another two weeks to contain.</a>

The Caldor Fire could damage Lake Tahoe's sparkling blue waters for years to come

Remote workers from San Francisco flocked to Lake Tahoe during the pandemic. Now, thousands of people are being forced to evacuate as the Caldor fire bears down on the serene Northern California enclave.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Firefighters say the <keyword id="11985061" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="caldor-fire" source="Orion">Caldor Fire</keyword> in Northern <keyword id="11892889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="california" source="Orion">California</keyword> will take another two weeks to contain.</li><li>The blaze has already consumed over 191,000 acres and destroyed over 600 buildings.</li><li>Five people - three first responders and two civilians - have been injured in the fire. </li></ul>Firefighters say the massive Caldor Fire in Northern California will likely take another two weeks to contain, <a href="https://twitter.com/CAL_FIRE/status/1432715126021529608">according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection</a>. The wildfire has already consumed over 191,000 acres and destroyed over 600 buildings, fire officials said Tuesday.Over 33,000 structures are threatened by the blaze that has prompted a series of evacuations orders and warnings in the <a href="https://www.insider.com/photo-caldor-fire-near-lake-tahoe-prompts-mass-evacuations-2021-8">area</a> and caused gridlock on nearby highways as residents fled. Five people - three first responders and two civilians - have been injured in the fire. Cal Fire's hourly <a href="https://twitter.com/CALFIREAEU/status/1432195526808592393">updates</a> on the fire's trajectory and evacuation orders have warned there is a "potential threat to life and/or property."A video shared on social media on August 27 shows the blaze casting an eerie, orange haze over the <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-shows-caldor-fire-casting-orange-haze-over-lake-tahoe-2021-8">Lake Tahoe</a> area. The situation comes as firefighters in California face <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/photos-greenville-california-was-decimated-by-dixie-fire-30-min-2021-8">multiple active wildfires</a> amid an ongoing drought. The Dixie Fire, currently the largest active wildfire in the state, grew to over 765,000 acres since it began in mid-July, <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/7/14/dixie-fire/">Cal Fire</a> said. This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Firefighters say the raging Caldor Fire that sparked evacuations in the Lake Tahoe region may not be fully contained until mid-September

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="11985061" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="caldor-fire" source="Orion">Caldor Fire</keyword> in <keyword id="11892887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="northern-california" source="Orion">Northern California</keyword> prompted several evacuation orders and warnings on Sunday and Monday.</li><li>Fire conditions in the region are expected to worsen this week as the blaze continues to spread.</li><li>The dire conditions come as firefighters in California face <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/photos-greenville-california-was-decimated-by-dixie-fire-30-min-2021-8">several active wildfires</a> amid an ongoing drought.</li></ul>The raging Caldor Fire in Northern California prompted a series of evacuations orders and warnings in the region on Sunday night and Monday morning as the fire spreads rapidly toward the <keyword id="11985062" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lake-tahoe" source="Orion">Lake Tahoe</keyword> region. The massive fire has already injured five people and destroyed more than 650 structures since it began on August 14, Cal Fire said in an update. Forty homes have also been damaged by Caldor's conditions. Evacuation orders have been issued for large parts of El Dorado and Alpine counties, while evacuation warnings stand in other parts of the counties. All of South Lake Tahoe was ordered to evacuate on Monday morning, leading to standstill traffic out of the city.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Karl Mondon (@karlmondon) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1432420213081849860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2021</a></blockquote>Cal Fire's hourly <a href="https://twitter.com/CALFIREAEU/status/1432195526808592393">updates</a> on the fire's trajectory and evacuation orders have warned there is a "potential threat to life and/or property."The fire's rapid spread even prompted at least one hospital in the region to transfer all of its patients ahead of Caldor's expected growth.The Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe <a href="https://twitter.com/BartonHealth/status/1432201690569076738">tweeted</a> Sunday that all patients at the hospital would be transferred to regional partner facilities in light of the fire, and patient families would be notified. The flurry of evacuation orders comes as fire officials expect the blaze's dangerous conditions to worsen this week, Clive Savacool, fire chief for the city of South Lake Tahoe told KTVN."The Caldor Fire has made a pretty big jump in the last few hours, so that's had a pretty big impact on the community and expansion of evacuations," Savacool said."It's because these winds, the low humidity, the low moisture, all these conditions are making it very, very treacherous for this fire and so that's why it's been expanding so rapidly."<a href="https://www.insider.com/video-shows-caldor-fire-casting-orange-haze-over-lake-tahoe-2021-8">Eerie video</a> from the region shows the Caldor Fire casting an ominous orange haze in the area. The dire conditions come as firefighters in California face <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/photos-greenville-california-was-decimated-by-dixie-fire-30-min-2021-8">several active wildfires</a> amid an ongoing drought. The Dixie Fire, which is currently the largest active wildfire in the state, has grown to more than 765,000 acres since it began in mid-July, <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/7/14/dixie-fire/">Cal Fire</a> said.

Raging Caldor Fire prompts mass evacuations as it barrels toward Lake Tahoe region

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="11977671" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="chaparral-fire" source="Orion">Chaparral Fire</keyword> is currently burning in both Riverside and San Diego counties.</li><li>On August 29, Cal <keyword id="11895343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fire" source="Orion">Fire</keyword> reported that the blaze is 10% contained.</li><li>The Caldor Fire outside of Sacramento is Cal Fire's top priority.</li></ul>The Chaparral Fire ignited on Saturday afternoon in <keyword id="11977672" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="san-diego-county" source="Orion">San Diego County</keyword> and has burned more than 1,400 acres in both San Diego and Riverside counties, <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/8/28/chaparral-fire/">according to Cal Fire</a>.The cause of the fire is still being investigated.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CALFIRESANDIEGO/posts/4284294201619378">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/">CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire</a>.An <a href="http://www.rvcfire.org/_Layouts/Incident%20Information/IncidentInfoDetail.aspx?4599">August 29 update</a> from the Riverside County Fire Department said that one firefighter received minor injuries, two structures were destroyed, and the fire has been 10% contained.Two evacuation areas have been designated on the southeastern corner of the Cleveland National Forest, according to <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=79cf3b8d7797476d855ab096b06a0ada&amp;extent=-13081954.2982%2C3956229.6817%2C-13052143.8571%2C3973370.6853%2C1021002100">Cal Fire evacuation maps</a>.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Brian Kahn (@blkahn) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1432040354191220738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2021</a></blockquote>"Since the beginning of the year, wildfires have burned more than 1.7 million acres in <keyword id="11892889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="california" source="Orion">California</keyword>. While firefighters continue their battle on the current major wildfires, Cal Fire and fire departments across the state remain prepared for potential more significant wildfires due to critical fire <keyword id="11911086" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="weather" source="Orion">weather</keyword>," Cal Fire said in <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/media/nnfbvshr/california_statewide_summary-08292021.pdf">a statewide fire summary</a> on Sunday.The Caldor Fire, which has <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/8/14/caldor-fire/">burned 156,515 acres outside Sacramento</a> since August 14, has become firefighters' top priority as it approaches Lake Tahoe, Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter said at an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=235753634983434&amp;ref=watch_permalinklink">August 23 news conference</a>.

Wildfire season continues to scorch California as Chaparral Fire ignites in San Diego County and spawns 'firenadoes', videos show

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Caldor <keyword id="11895343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fire" source="Orion">fire</keyword> caused thousands of residents of South <keyword id="11985062" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lake-tahoe" source="Orion">Lake Tahoe</keyword>, California, to evacuate their homes.</li><li><keyword id="12078579" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bears" source="Orion">Bears</keyword> roamed the empty streets, rummaged through garbage cans and broke into homes.</li><li>Authorities said bears had broken into about 70 homes and vehicles, usually in search of food.</li></ul>As residents of South Lake Tahoe, California, evacuated to escape the advancing Caldor fire, bears roamed the empty streets and broke into homes, reports say.Videos and images posted on social media show bears entering empty homes and gardens.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-News 5 Cleveland (@WEWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1434578392523972609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2021</a></blockquote>One video captured by a doorbell camera showed a mother bear and three cubs sniffing around on a porch.The homeowner, Azadeh Nolan, told <a href="https://video.storyful.com/record/22163">Storyful</a>, "We noticed the camera detected motion on the north end of the cabin. So we immediately tuned into the rest of our footage and found mama bear at our front door.""We know better than to encourage them, so locals know to scare them off and leave no food around," Nolan said.Nolan told the outlet that she and her family screamed into the doorbell camera in an attempt to scare the bears away.Although bear break-ins are common in the region at this time of year, the numbers rose significantly after the area's nearly 22,000 residents fled.Since the evacuation, bear break-ins have been reported at about 70 homes and vehicles, according to the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/tahoe/article/As-Tahoe-residents-fled-the-Caldor-Fire-the-16438925.php">The San Francisco Chronicle</a> said.This is compared with just a few bear break-ins per week normally.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Active NorCal (@ActiveNorCal) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1433065944272629769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2021</a></blockquote>Sgt. Simon Brown of the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office told The San Francisco Chronicle that police officers had been leaving courtesy notes at homes where bears had broken in, so owners would be aware when they returned.Brown added that bears usually entered homes in search of food."It's pretty obvious when you get inside and you see the target: a refrigerator," Brown told the paper.Hungry bears were also seen ransacking garbage cans left on the street curbs and feasting on trash. "Bears are just having a heyday of it. It's just a nightmare," John Tillman, owner of South Tahoe Refuse, told The San Francisco Chronicle."There's so much garbage on the street because of the bears. Oh my God, they are making a mess," he said.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Matthias Gafni (@mgafni) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1435002074245173251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2021</a></blockquote>Police have found front doors broken, garage doors with holes in them, and trash cans and dumpsters emptied by bears."If it smells and they think there's food in it, they will go for it," Tillman told the paper.Authorities warn residents not to feed animals human food, as it can create bad habits, or even cause malnourishment and death, according to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.The Caldor Fire, which caused unprecedented evacuations, destroyed 776 homes in the area, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/08/bears-south-lake-tahoe-caldor-fire-evacuations">The Guardian.</a>The fire is now roughly 50% contained, the paper said, and residents have now been allowed to start returning to their homes.

Videos show hungry bears ransacking a deserted Californian town after residents fled a massive wildfire

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ricardo Rodriguez lost his <keyword id="12129262" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dog" source="Orion">dog</keyword>, Russ, when camping in <keyword id="11985062" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lake-tahoe" source="Orion">Lake Tahoe</keyword> in September before the Caldor Fire.</li><li>There was no sign of Russ, no shelter found him, and temperatures plummeted as winter took its grip. </li></ul>After going missing for four months, a lost pet dog was miraculously found huddled in the freezing snow at Twin Peaks, near Lake Tahoe. In early September, Ricardo Rodriguez was on a camping trip in the Lake Tahoe area with four friends and his three-year-old pitbull mix Russ. But the idyllic trip was cut short after the <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-caldor-fire-could-impact-lake-tahoes-blue-waters-for-years">Caldor Fire</a> engulfed the area, forcing the group to flee. In the chaos of the blaze — <a href="https://www.insider.com/photo-caldor-fire-near-lake-tahoe-prompts-mass-evacuations-2021-8">which ultimately destroyed almost 1000 structures</a> — Russ ran away, forcing Rodriguez to leave without him. He never heard if Russ was safe.However, on December 16, a skier saw a dog bundled in the snow. Unable to reach the animal, Wendy Jones, founder and executive director of <a href="https://tahoepaws.org/">Tahoe PAWS &amp; TLC 4 Furry Friends</a>, an animal search-and-rescue non-profit group, was alerted.Volunteers Leona Allen and Elsa Gaule immediately started the mission to save the dog. As they trekked up the snow-bound hill, they saw the dark mass of the dog. The volunteers assumed he was dead, as the freezing temperature would have made it hard for him to survive. And then he lifted his head. The volunteers shouted with joy and then quickly had to bundle the scared dog — luring him with treats — and sled with him down the hill. Although he was fearful, after four months of surviving snow and fire alone, he rested his head in Gaule's hands, showing he was trusting. <div type="image" title="Russ being reunited with his owner after being missing for 4 months" height="1270" width="1693" msid="88933860" hostid="261"></div>The rescuers wrapped Russ in a warm blanket and sled him down the mountain to the El Dorado County Animal Services Diamond Springs shelter. He was in surprisingly good health, the director of the animal response team and founder of Tahoe Paws, Wendy Jones, told Insider, describing Russ as "cold, hungry and thirsty, but happy and sweet."<a href="https://www.calanimals.org/henry-brzezinski">Henry Brzezinski, Chief of El Dorado County Animal Services,</a> told Insider that Russ was roughly 15 lbs underweight, possibly surviving off food from nearby restaurants. When Russ got the all-clear, the medical staff checked him for an ownership microchip. Rodriguez then received the phone call he'd been waiting for. "I was ecstatic," he said, "I was looking forward to helping my dog find his way back home," Rodriguez told CNN. "After months of not hearing back from anyone, I assumed he was in good hands with a different owner," Rodriguez <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/12/us/dog-missing-for-months-rescued-snow-trnd/index.html">told CNN</a>, "I was hopeful that one day he would return."On December 26, the pair were reunited, and Russ was safe and warm once more. There's no tangible explanation for how Russ survived so long in such brutal weather conditions. There is a chance, Brzezinski tells Insider, he was taken in by someone only to escape again.Jones added that "dogs go into survival mode. They find food, water, and a safe place to hunker down."

Rescuers hail the survival instincts of a pet dog that got lost during a massive wildfire and lived through a freezing winter in California's mountains

Welcome back to <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/10-things-in-politics">10 Things in Politics</a>. <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/10-things-in-politics">Sign up here to receive this newsletter</a>. Plus, download Insider's app for news on the go - <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id554260576">click here for iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.freerange360.mpp.businessinsider">here for Android</a>. Send tips to <a href="mailto:bgriffiths@insider.com">bgriffiths@insider.com</a> or tweet me at <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentGriffiths">@BrentGriffiths</a>.<ul><li>Programming note: Apologies for the lack of the <keyword id="11894123" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="newsletter" source="Orion">newsletter</keyword> yesterday - we're back to a normal time for the rest of the week.</li></ul>Here's what we're talking about:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-democratic-playbook-for-defeating-desantis-is-taking-shape-2021-8">Inside Democrats' plan to destroy Gov. Ron DeSantis' shot at reelection so he doesn't try to run for president</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-6-week-abortion-ban-has-officially-become-law-2021-8">Texas' 6-week abortion ban has officially taken effect</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-speech-afghanistan-us-finalizes-withdrawal-2021-8">Biden defends Afghanistan withdrawal as an 'extraordinary success'</a></li></ul>With Phil Rosen.<hr />1. INSIDE THE MIDTERMS: Democrats think Gov. Ron DeSantis is vulnerable. They want to end the Florida Republican's presidential hopes long before the Iowa caucuses, and they're hoping that escalating their efforts to deny his reelection will also snuff out a formidable successor to former President Donald Trump's mantle.Here's a peek <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-democratic-playbook-for-defeating-desantis-is-taking-shape-2021-8">at their playbook to take DeSantis down</a>:Florida's ongoing COVID-19 crisis plays a major role: The Democratic National Committee started singling out DeSantis in July as coronavirus cases in the state surged and as he resisted the kinds of restrictions that blue states were taking. President Joe Biden himself has played into this as the White House tussles with DeSantis over his ban on mask mandates.<ul><li>Republicans think his approach will pay off: "The whole nation has Florida envy," Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida who ran DeSantis' gubernatorial transition team, told my colleague. DeSantis' staff also points out that while he opposes mandates, the governor has consistently pushed vaccination efforts.</li></ul>Democrats concede DeSantis has skillfully raised his profile: He could teach "Masterclass on how to insert himself into the Republican Party primary ecosystem," Steve Schale, who steered the Obama-Biden ticket to victory both times in the state, told my colleague. But these very actions could also cost DeSantis in a general election.<ul><li>Strategists caution about focusing too much on the governor: Schale said his party could win the state again by winning over suburban voters, getting more Democratic voters registered, and pushing back on Republican messaging trying to cast Democrats as "socialists."</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-democratic-playbook-for-defeating-desantis-is-taking-shape-2021-8">Read more about how Democrats are tracking DeSantis' efforts to test the 2024 waters</a>.<hr /><a href="https://www.insider.com/photo-last-us-soldier-leaves-kabul-chris-donahue-2021-8"><div type="image" title="chris donahue last US soldier" height="1152" width="1536" msid="85830610" hostid="261"></div></a>2. Biden defiant over Afghanistan withdrawal: He marked the end of America's longest war with a speech reiterating that he was "not going to extend this forever war." Biden also tried to skirt around breaking his recent pledge to not leave a single American behind, saying there was "no deadline" for the unknown number of Americans still in the country. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-speech-afghanistan-us-finalizes-withdrawal-2021-8">But there are many signs the US will stay active in Afghanistan, even without troops there</a>.<ul><li>US made a secret deal with the Taliban to ease evacuations: The deal involved the Taliban helping transport groups of Americans to the Kabul airport as well as US special-operations forces working with militants to organize daily trips to guide those fleeing, CNN reports. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-taliban-set-up-secret-gates-kabul-airport-americans-cnn-2021-8">More on the arrangement</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-show-taliban-supporters-holding-mock-funeral-us-and-uk-2021-9">Taliban supporters hold a mock funeral for the US and the UK</a>.<a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-show-taliban-supporters-holding-mock-funeral-us-and-uk-2021-9"><div type="image" title="mock funeral taliban US khost afghanistan" height="2269" width="3026" msid="85830612" hostid="261"></div></a><hr />3. Amazon, Google, Microsoft in a "frenzy" to help ICE build its own data-mining tool: The tech giants have shown interest in working on a system being developed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would target people not authorized to work in the US by mining social-media information and processing surveillance footage and biometric data, according to an Insider investigation. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/post/preview?post_id=612edc37fdabbb31ed6fabd3&amp;mode=desktopktop">Up to $300 million is at stake</a>.<hr />4. One of the nation's strictest antiabortion laws is now in effect: A Texas law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy went into effect this morning, threatening access to abortions across the state. An application for an emergency injunction submitted by Texas abortion providers was not addressed by the US Supreme Court. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-6-week-abortion-ban-has-officially-become-law-2021-8">More on the news</a>.<ul><li>Texas Republicans prevail in passing voting restrictions: The approval of the final version of Senate Bill 1 through both chambers of the Texas state legislature, almost entirely along party lines, is a major victory for GOP members who control the legislature. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-gop-passes-election-bill-that-sparked-democratic-walkout-2021-8">Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign the legislation into law</a>.</li></ul><hr /><div type="image" title="Louisiana National Guard performs a rescue in Louisiana" height="888" width="1776" msid="85830613" hostid="261"></div>5. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-can-young-kids-get-vaccinated-timeline-2021-7"></a>Louisiana has rescued nearly 700 people since Ida struck: State officials say the Louisiana National Guard has rescued 359 people and 55 pets by high-water vehicle, boat, and air in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Gov. John Bel Edwards said 671 people had been rescued from floodwaters since Ida made landfall as a Category 4 storm. So far, at least four people have been killed. <a href="https://www.insider.com/national-guard-rescues-people-pets-ida-2021-8">Officials are begging residents not to return for now</a>.<ul><li>Some of New Orleans could get power back today: <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/hurricane/article_d5d5f57c-0a7b-11ec-a7b4-3f2c99af0f4c.html">It is expected that hospitals, water pumping, and other critical needs will see their power restored first</a>, NOLA.com reports.</li></ul><hr />6. McCarthy threatens companies over Capitol riot panel's request: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the GOP "will not forget" any companies that comply with the panel's request for records, Politico reports. The panel asked 35 telecommunications and social-media companies for phone records and other information that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/politics/january-6-phone-records-members-of-congress/index.html">could cover</a> some lawmakers and some Trump family members, per CNN. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/31/mccarthy-january-6-threaten-phone-records-requests-508166">Most Republicans led by McCarthy have staunchly opposed the panel's creation</a>.<ul><li>Rep. Madison Cawthorn suggests breaking rioters out of jail: The Republican congressman <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rep-cawthorn-bust-jan-6th-rioters-out-jail-political-prisoners-2021-8">likened pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol to "political prisoners."</a></li></ul><hr />7. A California COVID-19 outbreak underscores the risks to kids: A CDC-backed simulation found "that in elementary schools without either masks or regular testing, more than 75% of children might be infected with the coronavirus in the first three months," The Washington Post reports. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/08/28/delta-variant-unvaccinated-children-elementary-schools/">The news comes after a California teacher removed her mask to read aloud to her class. Within days, half of her students had COVID-19.</a><ul><li>The good news: Vaccines could get authorized for young kids this fall. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-can-young-kids-get-vaccinated-timeline-2021-7">Here are the drug companies' most likely timelines</a>.</li></ul><hr />8. AOC and other progressives want a new Fed chair: A group of House Democrats argue that Jerome Powell has made some "positive changes" but hasn't done enough to address the climate crisis and racial inequality. Still, Powell has broad support from lawmakers and seems likely to win a second term by February. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aoc-progressives-biden-replace-powell-climate-equality-federal-reserve-chair-2021-8">Here's why Powell is still Biden's most likely pick</a>.<hr />9. Fire could alter Lake Tahoe for years: Increasingly dismal conditions in the forested area surrounding the Caldor Fire in Northern California have already begun to tarnish the famously blue, alpine waters of Lake Tahoe - and researchers say the long-term effects on the natural wonder are still unknown. <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-caldor-fire-could-impact-lake-tahoes-blue-waters-for-years">More on the Caldor Fire, which has prompted tens of thousands of evacuations and destroyed numerous structures</a>.<hr />10. "Jeopardy!" is entering another new era: Mike Richards, who was briefly the iconic show's new host, is now leaving the program entirely. Sony said Richards would exit as executive producer of both "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune." An internal memo said the "disruption" had not died down following the uproar and later reversal on Richards' being named a full-time "Jeopardy!" host. <a href="https://www.insider.com/mike-richards-out-as-executive-producer-jeopardy-wheel-of-fortune-2021-8">Here's everything that led to Richards' departure</a>.<hr />Today's trivia question: Today marks the anniversary of Bobby Fischer's 1972 defeat of the Russian Boris Spassky in the world chess championship. Which US diplomat reportedly helped persuade Fischer to go to Iceland for the match? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at <a href="mailto:bgriffiths@insider.com">bgriffiths@insider.com</a>.<ul><li>Monday's answer: George Raveling, a last-minute volunteer for the March on Washington, asked Martin Luther King Jr. for his copy of the "I Have a Dream" speech. Raveling is now a Hall of Fame basketball coach. <a href="https://theundefeated.com/features/how-george-raveling-came-to-own-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech/">He has said he doesn't know why he asked King for his speech</a>.</li></ul>

10 Things in Politics: Dems' plan to torpedo DeSantis

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="60973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="biden" source="Orion">Biden</keyword> is set to nominate a new Fed chair.</li><li>Re-nominating <keyword id="11918133" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jerome-powell" source="Orion">Jerome Powell</keyword> would be a mistake.</li><li>Powell has downplayed <keyword id="11896311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-change" source="Orion">climate change</keyword> which has a huge effect on our <keyword id="11893570" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="economy" source="Orion">economy</keyword>.</li><li>Yevgeny Shrago is a Policy Counsel in Public Citizen's Climate Program.</li><li>David Arkush is the managing director of Public Citizen's Climate Program.</li><li>This is an <keyword id="11905565" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="opinion" source="Orion">opinion</keyword> column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.</li></ul>The climate crisis is creating risks that banks and regulators like the Federal Reserve are failing to address. Wildfires like the Caldor fire are destroying homes, neighborhoods, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/americas/canada-town-evacuation-extreme-heat/index.html">entire towns</a>. Hurricanes like Ida are battering and flooding our coasts. Weekly heat waves are overtaxing electric grids and buckling infrastructure. If we don't get emissions under control quickly, extreme weather, drought, and migration <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/23/climate-change-dangerous-thresholds-un-report">will soon gut</a> the economies of regions and nations.A rapid transition to clean energy would create millions of jobs, improve public health, and reduce energy costs. But <a href="https://www.ran.org/bankingonclimatechaos2021/">banks are still making</a> massive investments in oil wells and gas pipelines, even though such investments will become worthless if we are to get emissions under control in time to avert catastrophe. If President Biden doesn't nominate a Fed Chair and Board who will take an active role, the transition is likely to disrupt employment, retirement savings, and the entire economy.<h2>A new Fed chair for a new mission</h2>The 2008 financial crisis grew out of excessive risk taking by banks, coupled with a hands-off regulatory attitude. When it comes to the risk that climate change poses to the financial system, this is our 2007, when the risks of the subprime mortgage bubble grew into the causes of a financial crisis. Massive threats are on the horizon. Financial regulators need to act, or face a spectacular collapse. As President Biden considers <keyword id="12061612" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-fed" source="Orion">the Fed</keyword> Chair nomination, with a decision expected as soon as next week, he should account for where the Fed is on guiding the financial system through climate-related challenges.Last year, the Fed finally joined other central banks in acknowledging that climate change poses a threat to the financial system. Since then, current Chair Jerome Powell has repeated that it's <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/23/fed-to-examine-risks-climate-change-poses-to-financial-system.html">early days</a> on climate, and that the Fed won't act before studying the issue more. His speech at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole symposium, which he used as a de facto pitch for reappointment to a second term, didn't even mention climate.This approach invites disaster. To cushion the financial system from climate shocks that <a href="https://www.swissre.com/media/news-releases/nr-20210422-economics-of-climate-change-risks.html">will dwarf</a> the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed must act now. With a Chair who appreciates the threat, the regulator has <a href="https://www.citizen.org/article/climate-roadmap-for-u-s-financial-regulation/">the power</a> to mitigate both the damage climate change does to the financial system, and the damage the financial system is doing to the planet.The Fed is responsible for making sure the biggest banks don't precipitate a new financial crisis. That includes JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, the world's four biggest funders of fossil fuels. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, megabanks had invested more in fossil fuels every year since the Paris Agreement, even as scientists and policy makers <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/pathway-to-critical-and-formidable-goal-of-net-zero-emissions-by-2050-is-narrow-but-brings-huge-benefits">agree</a> that fossil fuel expansion needs to stop for the world to avoid the worst harms of climate change. That means these big banks are plowing money into investments that will become worthless as the clean-energy transition accelerates. It's just the kind of dangerous investment that the Fed failed to prevent in 2007, opening the door to a financial crash that wrecked the economy. Even worse, when these banks finance fossil fuels, they actively contribute to rising global temperatures. That means more climate damage. The banks are <a href="https://www.finance-watch.org/publication/breaking-the-climate-finance-doom-loop/">creating conditions</a> that harm their business and the economy long-term, in pursuit of short-term profits. Powell may get credit for forward thinking changes to the Fed's monetary policy framework, but his approach to financial regulation is <a href="https://ourfinancialsecurity.org/2021/08/fact-sheet-deregulation-at-the-powell-fed/">taking us back to 2007</a>. Given the damage the 2008 crisis did to the economy, President Biden cannot accept that attitude in his nominee. The Federal Reserve could have stopped banks from selling bad subprime mortgage loans in 2007, and it can stop them from financing emissions that the economy cannot survive now. Once the Fed Chair accepts this responsibility, they have the <a href="https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/Fed-Green-Scorecard.pdf">tools</a> to bring banks into line. The Fed can make banks account for the riskiness of financing emissions and run stress tests that evaluate how climate change will threaten the financial system. To reduce risk, the Fed can make banks that invest heavily in fossil fuels hold more capital to protect investors, and even put direct limits on creating or holding the riskiest fossil-fuel assets. Along with bank regulation, the Fed must review the monetary tools it employed during the pandemic. The Fed's emergency lending during that panic was a <a href="https://www.citizen.org/article/bailed-out-and-propped-up/">bailout</a> for fossil fuel companies. This bailout provides an ongoing implicit subsidy for these companies, lowering their borrowing costs. The Fed should instead put stringent conditions on any future lending and force investors to reckon with the true riskiness of fossil fuel investments. Finally, the Fed must help cushion the economy from the impacts that are already <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/">baked in</a>, which will disproportionately fall on low-income communities and communities of color. It must maintain its belated focus on full employment, making it easier for those displaced by the economic harms of climate change to find work. It should also help finance a just transition by deploying a stronger Community Reinvestment Act and show greater willingness to lend to state and local governments.This is climate change's eleventh hour. The Biden administration has acknowledged climate change as an urgent threat to the financial system. But in the absence of Congressional action, Powell seems determined to sit on his hands and let the financial system fund its own oblivion.Biden must nominate a Chair and Board members who recognize the scale and urgency of the threat - and who will fulfill the Fed's mission to protect the economy from climate-related threats using its full range of powers.

You Searched For "caldor fire" and got 11 results

Lake Tahoe resident and violinist plays while stuck in traffic as thousands flee from the Caldor Fire

Taiyler Simone Mitchell

Eerie video shows the Caldor Fire in California casting an ominous, orange haze over Lake Tahoe

Azmi Haroun

The Caldor Fire could damage Lake Tahoe's sparkling blue waters for years to come

Erin Snodgrass

Remote workers from San Francisco flocked to Lake Tahoe during the pandemic. Now, thousands of people are being forced to evacuate as the Caldor fire bears down on the serene Northern California enclave.

Avery Hartmans

Firefighters say the raging Caldor Fire that sparked evacuations in the Lake Tahoe region may not be fully contained until mid-September

Jake Epstein

Raging Caldor Fire prompts mass evacuations as it barrels toward Lake Tahoe region

Erin Snodgrass

Wildfire season continues to scorch California as Chaparral Fire ignites in San Diego County and spawns 'firenadoes', videos show

Morgan Keith

Videos show hungry bears ransacking a deserted Californian town after residents fled a massive wildfire

Alia Shoaib

Rescuers hail the survival instincts of a pet dog that got lost during a massive wildfire and lived through a freezing winter in California's mountains

Bethany Dawson

10 Things in Politics: Dems' plan to torpedo DeSantis

Brent D. Griffiths

Renominating Jerome Powell for Fed chair is a mistake that will have serious consequences for our planet

Yevgeny Shrago,David Arkush