The frantic evacuation from South Lake Tahoe continued on Tuesday night, with residents clambering for Lyft rides that had surged to $1,500 amid automated price gouging and an entire crew of firefighters being taken out of the operation by COVID-19.
The fire has now spread over 199,632 acres and it is only 18 percent contained. All 22,000 residents of South Lake Tahoe, a tourist trap that is normally heaving in the summer months, have been told to leave before the flames encroach on the town.
It created a sudden rush in traffic on the roads and a race for taxis among those who do not have access to their own cars.
A Lyft XL ride from South Lake Tahoe to Reno, Nevada, normally costs $200 but on Tuesday it soared to nearly eight times as much as people rushed to beat the flames. Uber had no drivers available in the area, leaving some of the people on the ground who do not have cars to rely on rescue teams or neighbors for a ride out of the area.
A furious resident shared a screenshot of the prices on Twitter yesterday. Lyft has since disabled price gouging in the area.
In the meantime, a strike crew of 16 firefighters who would have been able to fight the flames has been compeltely sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19.
It's unclear how many firefighters are now left to battle the blaze but at a briefing on Tuesday, Cal Fire incident commander Jeff Veik warned that if one more firefighter tests positive, it could halt the entire mission.
One volunteer firefighter, Richard Geraty, suffered third degree burns to 20 percent of his body. He is now in the hospital and his family is raising money for him via GoFundMe page that has so far raised $40,000.
Lyft prices surged by nearly 800 percent on Tuesday as people desperately tried to flee South Lake Tahoe. A journey that normally costs $200 from South Lake Tahoe to Reno in an Uber XL was costing $1,500. The company has now disabled the automated price gouging
Embers fly from a tree as the Caldor Fire burns along Highway 50 in Eldorado National Forest, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021
TOPSHOT - A mile marker pointing in the direction of Placerville is surrounded by flames during the Caldor fire in Twin Bridges, California on September 1, 2021
Volunteer firefighter Richard Geraty suffered third degree burns battling the blaze on August 28 He is now expected to be in the hospital for a month while he recovers; so far, no deaths have been recorded
Lyft said on Tuesday that it had disabled the price gouging algorithm, which happens automatically in areas where there is increased demand and few cars.
In a statement, a spokesman told SF Gate: 'When ride requests outpace the number of drivers on the road, prime time pricing — elevated fares designed to get more drivers to high-demand areas — is automatically enabled.
'When we realized how the evacuation order was affecting Lyft prices, we immediately implemented a cap and ultimately suspended prime time pricing.'
Uber cars were regularly priced on the app but there were no drivers in the area.
It comes as fire chiefs warned crews at a briefing on the mission to wear masks in order to protect each other from COVID-19.
'We lost a whole strike team of crews yesterday, we lost a finance section chief due to [being] COVID positive, so understand, do not come to this briefing without a mask on.
'I understand your views are important and I will always respect that as one of our leaders, but you are here at a briefing.
Fire officials dealt with a two-week old blaze they said was 'more aggressive than anticipated,' and continued to edge toward the pristine waters of Lake Tahoe
