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. Supported by @sendy_app.