Editor’s Note: Amanda Milici is the Fire Adapted Communities Coordinator for Tahoe Resource Conservation District in South Lake Tahoe, California. Amanda is also the coordinator for the Tahoe Living With Fire collaborative program focused on education and outreach about wildfire in the Tahoe basin. Here Amanda shares a personal and professional account of the Caldor Fire and how social media played a pivotal role in information sharing.

Refresh…refresh…refresh. It was 5:30 in the morning on August 31st, 2021 and my thumb was sore from an unusual amount of time spent scrolling through social media. My dog was asleep dreaming of tennis balls, her favorite hikes and the Upper Truckee River while I—equipped with an iPhone and opposable thumbs—was endlessly scrolling through the Twitter feeds of CAL FIRE (@CAL_Fire) and Zeke Lunder (wildfire GIS guru at The Lookout and @wildland_zko). The hashtag #caldorfire had been trending and I was digesting every bit of information I could get.

The Caldor Fire which begun two weeks prior in El Dorado County had grown and crossed Highway 50 with high winds pushing it rapidly towards the Lake Tahoe Basin. On August 30th, the fire reached Echo Summit – less than a mile from my house in Christmas Valley and roughly 7 miles from the City of South Lake Tahoe. The night before, I packed my car with everything I own and stayed with my partner’s family 8 miles away. At 11:00am the next morning, as evacuation orders were issued for the entire city, I packed again and drove east to Carson City. I watched ash fall to the ground as I wondered if the flame front was already in my neighborhood.

My dog, Susan, dreaming of her life in Tahoe while evacuated. Photo by author.

I was far from the only one with a sore thumb. Residents and neighbors across the basin wondering when to evacuate, homeowners worrying about their property and visitors deeply concerned with the status of Lake Tahoe flocked to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for any Caldor Fire information they could find from agencies and each other.

For better or for worse, social media has evolved beyond a platform of networking and connection. People of all ages and demographics receive information and news from their preferred apps and agencies use them to educate, inform and influence their constituencies.

I played both of those roles during the Caldor Fire. When I was done scrolling, I spent the following hours talking with my coworker Anya as she provided information to the Lake Tahoe community via our social network pages, Tahoe Living With Fire. Anya happened to be in Chicago during the evacuation, and with an extra two hours to her advantage, she shared updates, information and tips as early as possible. Her careful creativity and acute awareness kept Tahoe Living With Fire followers informed and helped them prepare as the fire approached.

Managed cooperatively by us at Tahoe Resource Conservation District and our partners at the University of Nevada Reno Cooperative Extension, Tahoe Living With Fire has been a trusted source of wildfire preparedness information, defensible space and home hardening tips, and community outreach for years. With branded graphics, we use social media to educate residents about wildfire, foster hope by sharing neighborhood preparedness stories and influence positive resident and visitor behavior.

Although each platform shares the same purpose, they all serve as different tools to reach different people. @TahoeLWF Instagram often contains visually interactive graphics and mostly reaches those in the 18-25 cohort, while @TahoeLWF Twitter and Facebook often contain news-worthy information (such as red flag warnings) and mostly reach folks aged 45-64. Between Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, Tahoe Living With Fire sees nearly 4,000 followers from South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe City, Incline Village, Truckee, Reno and Carson City. Not to mention that amid the pandemic lock-downs, it was one of our primary ways of connecting with the community.

A @TahoeLWF Instagram Sequence.

During the Caldor Fire, Tahoe Living With Fire’s role shifted to address a more immediate need – public information. As the fire approached, we shared daily live-streamed Incident Command briefings and incident updates. When evacuation warnings and orders were issued, we shared evacuation checklists created by the University of Nevada Reno Cooperative Extension in English and Spanish, emergency notification sign-up information and evacuation shelter addresses. As evacuation warnings and orders were lifted, we shared resources on how to safely return home. Our pages became a community hub for information from trusted sources. Throughout the fire, residents from around the lake commented expressions of gratitude and shared posts with friends, family, and neighbors.

A Tahoe Living With Fire Facebook post during Caldor Fire evacuation. Graphic and evacuation checklist created by the University of Nevada Reno Cooperative Extension.

In the digital age, presence on social media is critical—to inform, to educate and to influence. However, it is by no means a silver bullet. The power of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter extend only so far, and they are not replacements for on-the-ground community outreach. Some folks do not use social media, and those without smart phones and laptops cannot be left in the dark. In many rural places—and particularly during disasters—  internet connectivity and cell service are anything but guaranteed. Although social media is important, continuing to spread information the ‘old-fashioned way’ through our community leaders has remained a priority.

Days, weeks, and months after the Caldor Fire, the Lake Tahoe community continued to reflect. Tahoe Living With Fire became a platform for celebrating success and inspiring hope. We shared stories from specific neighborhoods who had close calls, but did not lose any homes. We shared stories from firefighters on the front lines who thanked community members for their defensible space. And we shared stories of the decades of mitigation work, fuel treatment areas and prescribed fire operations that in conjunction with community preparation gave South Lake Tahoe, Christmas Valley and Meyers a leg up against the fire.

A Tahoe Living With Fire Facebook video sharing firefighter insights from the Caldor Fire.

Snow has fallen here in Tahoe, and I am grateful for so many things. I am grateful that I am no longer evacuated and that I still have my house. I am grateful to live in a community that strives to live with and prepare for wildfire. And I am grateful for Anya, who stepped up while in Chicago to fill a role that was logistically complicated for me while evacuated. We continue to provide educational and timely information on Tahoe Living With Fire social media. As ‘noisy’ as social media can be, I am grateful to have seen first-hand that when used strategically for public information it can be quite effective at reaching a lot of people in a critical time. For the moment though, I’m enjoying letting my thumb rest and going on my dog’s favorite hikes, walking along the Upper Truckee River and, of course, throwing tennis balls.

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