ECHO SUMMIT (CBS SF) — It’s been months since the massive Caldor Fire swept over Echo Summit on its march into the Tahoe Basin, but the impact of the wall of flames still lingers on the rocky slopes nearby.
Denuded of groundcover, the slopes above Highway 50 are a bit unstable. A massive cabin-size boulder and tons of rocky debris slammed down on the highway at the summit on Thursday night, shutting down the major weekend traffic route into South Lake Tahoe.
Getting it done! Nice job working to get our road open, Caltrans District 3!! pic.twitter.com/zNs1NiOesJ
— CHP South Lake Tahoe (@CHPSouthLake) March 4, 2022
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“We lost all the vegetation above here,” said Bill Netto, Caltrans Acting Maintenance Superintendent. “We have rock slides but nothing like what we had here last night or earlier almost in the same spot.”
Then hours after the slide was cleared and the roadway reopened, another boulder tumbled down the slope, slamming into a Toyota Tacoma. While the vehicle suffered major damage, no injuries were reported.
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“Another large boulder came down onto US-50, same location. No injuries,” CHP South Lake Tahoe posted. “While (officers were) on scene, ANOTHER huge boulder came down without incident. Be vigilant when traveling through the burn areas. Very unstable hillsides.”
On Friday, crews used dynamite charges to rip into Thursday night’s massive rockslide and begin the hours long process of clearing the mounds of debris from the roadway.
Exclusive look #2👀Drilling operations continue despite frigid temperatures.🥶 Drilling operations longer than expected due to the massive size of the boulder on US-50 @ Echo Summit in @CountyElDorado. @CaltransHQ @CA_Trans_Agency @CHPPlacerville @CHPSouthLake @CHP_Truckee pic.twitter.com/ARuriAjyZW
— Caltrans District 3 (@CaltransDist3) March 4, 2022
Now back to our not regularly scheduled programming, more footage of #BoulderWatch from our team at @CaltransHQ on the Highway 50 work at Echo Summit. Great work by our crew! Again, we hope to have the highway back open later this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/CP5THwXkIh
— Caltrans District 3 (@CaltransDist3) March 4, 2022
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Hours later, traffic was flowing again into South Lake Tahoe.
Source: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com.