Update to The Fire God article from December 2015
On April 10, 2025 Tahoe Donner's Forestry Team presented a webinar about Tahoe Donner's Defensible Space. The webinar can be viewed at this link https://www.tahoedonner.com/members/land-forestry/land-management-forestry/defensible-space/ .
In December 2015, I researched and wrote a detailed article on the 1960 Donner Ridge Fire which burned 43,000 acres, available at this link https://www.truckeehistory.org/uploads/5/1/9/2/51923135/final_web_dec2015issue4_121815rfs.pdf, pp. 4-5, 7 and related Supplemental Content available at this link https://www.truckeehistory.org/supplemental-content-donner-ridge-fire-of-1960-article.html .
The Historical Society has also recently been able to get the early 1960s local newspaper Sierra Sun digitized and available online. One of the 1960 newspaper articles headline is this:
"LOCAL COMMUNITIES THREATENED BY 35,000 ACRE FIRE" in the August 25, 1960 Sierra Sun issue. The link is available at the internet archive at https://archive.org/details/catruhs_001227/mode/2up .
In the Tahoe Donner webinar, there were a number of unique photographs and a map which clearly show the extent of the 1960, 1979, 1994, 2003, and 2007 fires.
The photographs in the webinar represented (1) the "80" Fire and "Donner" fire scars; (2) the 2003 Donner Fire; and (3) the 2007 fire and the "Halo" fire breaks. The 2003 and 2007 fires started from Interstate 80 and burned uphill with the prevailing southwest winds towards Tahoe Donner - and neither fire happened on the more dangerous Red Flag Days.
Even though the webinar was presented for Tahoe Donner residents, make no mistake: fires can happen anywhere, anytime. Be vigilant in preparation, observation, and reporting.
Note: the map on p. 7 of the December 2015 article https://www.truckeehistory.org/uploads/5/1/9/2/51923135/final_web_dec2015issue4_121815rfs.pdf has gone AWOL, but you can still find the map at this link https://web.archive.org/web/20161227042954/http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/pub/fireplan/fpupload/fpppdf1024.pdf .
In December 2015, I researched and wrote a detailed article on the 1960 Donner Ridge Fire which burned 43,000 acres, available at this link https://www.truckeehistory.org/uploads/5/1/9/2/51923135/final_web_dec2015issue4_121815rfs.pdf, pp. 4-5, 7 and related Supplemental Content available at this link https://www.truckeehistory.org/supplemental-content-donner-ridge-fire-of-1960-article.html .
The Historical Society has also recently been able to get the early 1960s local newspaper Sierra Sun digitized and available online. One of the 1960 newspaper articles headline is this:
"LOCAL COMMUNITIES THREATENED BY 35,000 ACRE FIRE" in the August 25, 1960 Sierra Sun issue. The link is available at the internet archive at https://archive.org/details/catruhs_001227/mode/2up .
In the Tahoe Donner webinar, there were a number of unique photographs and a map which clearly show the extent of the 1960, 1979, 1994, 2003, and 2007 fires.
The photographs in the webinar represented (1) the "80" Fire and "Donner" fire scars; (2) the 2003 Donner Fire; and (3) the 2007 fire and the "Halo" fire breaks. The 2003 and 2007 fires started from Interstate 80 and burned uphill with the prevailing southwest winds towards Tahoe Donner - and neither fire happened on the more dangerous Red Flag Days.
Even though the webinar was presented for Tahoe Donner residents, make no mistake: fires can happen anywhere, anytime. Be vigilant in preparation, observation, and reporting.
Note: the map on p. 7 of the December 2015 article https://www.truckeehistory.org/uploads/5/1/9/2/51923135/final_web_dec2015issue4_121815rfs.pdf has gone AWOL, but you can still find the map at this link https://web.archive.org/web/20161227042954/http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/pub/fireplan/fpupload/fpppdf1024.pdf .
Photo 1, courtesy of Tahoe Donner Forestry
Photo 3, courtesy of Tahoe Donner Forestry
Editor: Heidi Sproat 5/5/2025
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Photo 2, courtesy of Tahoe Donner Forestry
Front page, Sierra Sun, August 25, 1960, available at this link https://archive.org/details/catruhs_001227/mode/2up, or at the California Revealed site, https://californiarevealed.org/do/1d6c7a44-fcd2-4097-b20e-69bf6482f5a5 .
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