The Caldor Fire isn’t the only thing running wild through California.
Video from an evacuated Lake Tahoe tourist city showed dumpster-diving bears and other wild critters making the most of deserted streets — as the wildfire raged just miles away.
The animals were filmed Tuesday as they casually meandered through the mostly empty South Lake Tahoe, a resort city that would usually be bustling with summer tourists.
The bears nonchalantly rummaged through dumpsters, scattering food around them, and calmly crossed empty streets, with coyotes also seen strolling about.
That afternoon, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Henry Herrera had told KGO-TV that the Caldor Fire was just 3 miles outside of South Lake Tahoe, which had been evacuated Monday, at least of its human occupants.
Roughly 22,000 residents had jammed the city’s main artery for hours after they were ordered to leave, with officials saying only a handful of residents defied the evacuation order.
By Wednesday, thick smoke had enveloped the city as firefighters scrambled to keep the wildfire at bay amid low humidity, dry fuel and gusts up to 30 mph.
With Post wires
