EXCLUSIVE: When humans are away, wildlife will play! Bears take over South Lake Tahoe after thousands of residents flee the resort town in the face of the Caldor Fire
- Black bears have been roaming freely in residential areas of South Lake Tahoe, where thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes in the face of the Caldor Fire
- A curious female bear was seen taking advantage of the lack of human activity Thursday, strolling into deserted front yards, rummaging through trash, and nuzzling abandoned possessions
- DailyMail.com was also allowed escorted access to the now blocked off Highway 89, some three miles south of South Lake Tahoe, to witness the latest efforts to halt the devastating fire's path
- The state route lies between the homes of Christmas Valley and the massive blaze that has so far torn through 210,259 acres across 19 active days
- Crews of highly trained firefighters - so called 'Hot Shot' crews - are now using a bold strategy of containment, working to 'hook' the fire round to the asphalt barrier
- 'This is the line where they are trying to contain [the fire]. They bring it down to the road and stop it in its tracks before it reaches the houses,' spokesperson Rita Henderson told DailyMail.com
- The fire has now been divided into two sections: east and west - the east side being the more hectic - with one firefighting-crew for each
Mid-afternoon in downtown South Lake Tahoe, a lone black bear lumbers over a fence and into a deserted front yard.
She snuffles through trash and nuzzles possessions abandoned by the empty home's occupants then heaves herself up and into a tree to eat apples.
Later she boldly walks around the block, stepping up to front doors and rifling through trashcans seeming not to have a care in the world.
These extraordinary scenes along William Avenue were witnessed by DailyMail.com as, according to locals, bear activity is at an historic high since residents fled the resort town and surrounding areas in the face of wildfire Caldor.
Anybody home? Bear activity has reached a historic high in South Lake Tahoe, where thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate their homes as the Caldor Fire approaches
DailyMail.com witnessed a female black bear wandering through a residential neighborhood in the resort town, picking through trash and eating apples from trees
She was seen walking around the block, stepping up to front doors and rifling through trashcans without a care in the world
Bears have been roaming freely around the eerily quiet towns, south of Lake Tahoe as the fire drives them from their natural homes in the woods
A ribbon of highway has become the vital focus in the fight to hold back the blaze.
On one side firefighters work tirelessly to tamp down the flames. On the other lies the Tahoe enclave of Christmas Valley.
With a population of just over 29,000 this is the new South Lake Tahoe, the area most at risk from the monster blaze. It's an unenviable crown won after a shift in winds gave the city a last-minute reprieve late Wednesday.
Now, only State Route 89 lies between the homes of Christmas Valley and the fire that has so far torn through 210,259 acres across 19 active days.
DailyMail.com was allowed escorted access to the closed off highway some three miles south of South Lake Tahoe and witnessed the latest efforts to halt the devastating fire's path.
At times the smoke that blew down the mountainside and across the road was so thick that the flashing lights of the firetrucks that lined the highway's edge were obscured, even from a few feet.
The furry animals have been exploring areas that would otherwise be off limits thanks to the lack of human activity in the region
A curious female bear makes her way around someone's abandoned front yard, sniffing patio furniture and trash cans
South Lake Tahoe, located in California's Sierra Nevada region is teeming with wildlife, however, most animals tend to avoid areas populated with humans
Flames flared within arm's reach of the road, hissing and surging over brush and rock.
On the east side of the highway the forest floor is a carpet of ash and charcoal. Burning boughs fall from trees, others stand lush and untouched in this oddly uneven apocalypse.
On the west side firefighters continue to spray fire retardant on the ground which is deep with pine needles, fir and brush – fuel.
One told DailyMail.com: 'We're using both natural and man-made barriers to try to stop this fire.
'We're using roads and creeks. Dozers clear a path ahead of where we think the fire is going, other crews burn [vegetation that could act as] fuel and lies ahead. We also have others hand-digging breaks.
'The key is we don't want this fire to jump the highway. We haven't lost any houses yet and we don't intend to.'
DailyMail.com was also allowed escorted access to the now blocked off Route 89, some three miles south of South Lake Tahoe, to witness the latest efforts to halt the devastating fire's path
Crews of highly trained firefighters - so called 'Hot Shot' crews - are now using a bold strategy of containment, working to 'hook' the fire round to the asphalt barrier
One firefighter told DailyMail.com they are using both natural and man-made barriers including roads and creeks to try to stop the fire
The fire has been divided into two sections: east and west - the east side being the more hectic - with a firefighting-crew for each. DailyMail.com was granted access to the east side, described as 'by far the most active'
It is no accident that the fire has found its way down to this stretch of highway.
DailyMail.com has learned that 20-person crews of highly qualified firefighters equipped to spend days and nights in the midst of the most remote fire - so called 'Hot Shot' crews - have been working to 'hook' the blaze round to this asphalt barrier. It is a bold strategy of containment.
Spokesperson Rita Henderson, who is usually based out of Reno, Nevada, told DailyMail.com: 'This is the line where they are trying to contain [the fire]. They bring it down to the road and stop it in its tracks before it reaches the houses.
'As of yesterday the fire has been divided into two sections: East and West. And we're tackling it with two main teams. One Cali Fire Team on the west and East Federal Team 4 on the east which is the more hectic side.'
Firefighters spray fire retardant on the west side of Highway 89 in a desperate bid to prevent the wildfires from crossing the road and into residential areas
A home that lies under the threat of wildfire Caldor as firefighters battle to halt the blaze before it crosses the highway and into the enclave of Christmas Valley
Firefighters battle battle the Caldor fire along highway 89 west of Lake Tahoe Thursday
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DailyMail.com was granted access to the east side, described by Henderson as, 'by far the most active.'
The skies above South Lake Tahoe have started to clear but smoke billows over this portion of I-89 and the abandoned homes of Christmas Valley.
Firetrucks are staged along it, with firefighters cutting out vegetation and spraying down hotspots. The heat is intense.
Further south, crews chop down trees and clear the ground; chainsaws roar as the boughs fall and are cleared away in bundles.
As of Wednesday, helicopters started dumping water over the area through the night, in the herculean effort to limit the ravages of this fire.
Firefighters expect to be fighting this blaze for many months to come.
But one local who has been engaged on this stretch for several days sounded a small note of hope, telling DailyMail.com: 'It might not look it, but it's actually looking pretty good for Christmas Valley right now.
'We're hoping this is where the fire will lay down.'
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