Saving South Lake Tahoe from the Caldor Fire | Todd Woodward | E12

In August 2021, the Caldor Fire came dangerously close to burning the entire city of South Lake Tahoe. In those critical moments when the fire crested Echo Summit, hotshot wildland firefighter Todd Woodward (@thefirenomad) was at his home in Meyers ready for its arrival despite the entire town having been evacuated. Although he was on injury leave from work after a serious mountain bike accident, Todd saw there were no resources yet dedicated to the fire, took initiative, put on his firefighting gear, jumped on a tiny Kawasaki KLX 110, and rallied the dirt bike around his backyard near the Corral Trail, flagging miles of dozer line in the middle of the night as crown fires were raging around him.

When bulldozers arrived to cut line, during the most critical time of the fire, Todd ran point on the entire operation, directing 10 dozers and 3 masticators from the seat of a little dirt bike. His efforts have become stuff of legend in Tahoe, and we wanted to hear his story. Todd credits many of his colleagues, but from his story it’s evident that without Todd’s initiative, matters with the Caldor could have played out very differently. Thanks to Todd for his willingness to share this important story and the bigger story of wildfire with our listeners. And thanks to @outdoor_gearlab and @chris_mcnamara for letting us record at GearLab HQ in South Lake.

1:30 – ALL TIME SPRING.

2:30 – Recording at GearLab headquarters in South Lake Tahoe. Thanks Chris McNamara!

5:40 – An episode about fire and a story of a man who helped saved a town – Todd Woodward - @thefirenomad

11:00 – Smoke is the new fifth season – living with wildfire and smoke

15:00 – Fire is good for the environment – Learnings from the 1988 Yellowstone Fire

16:30 – Learnings from the Dixie Fire – Fire maps don’t tell the whole story from the ground.

18:30 – Caldor Fire breaks out, along with Dixie Fire – both fires the first time a fire ever burned over the crest of the Sierra Nevada.

20:00 – Introducing Todd Woodward – Hotshot Wildland Firefighter – Meyers, California resident

24:00 – Getting injured on a mountain bike ride, off work to recover. Going back to Meyers from Trinity Alps to defend his house from the incoming Caldor Fire.

33:40 – Jumping on a Kawasaki KLX 110 and riding around South Lake Tahoe to run point on directing bulldozers on where to cut line.

44:40 – Fire has jumped Meyers, across Christmas Valley and burning up towards Saxon Creek, Mr. Toad Wild Ride

48:40 – How important and necessary is dozer line?

51:00 – Directing 13 pieces of heavy machinery to cut line and masticate from the dirt bike.

52:15 – How important was the little dirt bike in helping pull off the job?

54:30 – How the winds affected the outcome of the Caldor Fire.

57:00 – Mitigating losses when you are at the mercy of the wind.

1:02:00 – At what point did Todd think they had control of the Caldor and keep it from progressing?

1:13:00 – Feeling safe at home after working the fire for two weeks, the threat has passed in South Lake Tahoe, but onto the next fire in Oregon.

1:15:00 – How is the fire season for 2023 looking in the Sierra Nevada?

1:16:30 – State, federal, local and private property owners doing more prescribed burns through local fire management organizations.

1:17:45 – The Lookout and Zeke Lunder.

1:19:00 – Deep river canyons and the difficulty of fighting fire in them

1:20:30 – The federal government needs to invest more money into hiring more wildland firefighters and pay them better wages. Working 1500 hours of overtime.

1:23:00 – What are the learnings Todd had from the Caldor Fire?

1:28:40 – The government is running out of funding to pay halfway decent living wages, and the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act

1:30:00 - Grassroots Wildland Firefighter Foundation – grassrootswildlandfirefighters.com

1:30:45 – How has Todd’s mental health been through all the stress?

1:34:00 – What does a healthy forest look like? Learning about fire ecology and burning.

1:41:00 – The mental health aspect and the importance of getting out on the skis and mountain bike.

1:43:50 – What does Mind the Track mean to Todd?