The fast-moving Caldor Fire surpassed 200,000 acres on Wednesday, as weary firefighters hoped that changes forecast for regional weather might bring a respite from a blaze that continues to threaten communities in the Lake Tahoe basin.

In this long exposure photograph, a burning tree emits embers as flames from the Caldor fire continue to burn in Twin Bridges, California on September 1, 2021. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Though Cal Fire reported that the fire had reached nearly 208,000 acres, with 23% containment, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the worst might be over:

With a shift in the weather expected this week, there was a growing sense Wednesday that perhaps the worst was behind them.

…

Firefighters are expecting to face strong winds with gusts up to 35 to 40 mph in some areas, and dry conditions on Wednesday night. An existing red flag warning remains in effect through 11:00 p.m. Wednesday.

“We are expecting winds to continue to abate or subside tomorrow,” a Cal Fire official said. “Over the next few days, we are going to see fire behavior slacking.”

The fire is only one of several still burning in California, including the massive Dixie Fire, the second-largest in the history of the state.

Both the Dixie Fire and the Caldor Fire are the first ever to burn clear across the Sierra Nevada mountains, from one side to the other.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.