Small fire and jet ski accident keeping fire and police busy in South Lake Tahoe

The long 4th of July holiday weekend in South Lake Tahoe got off to a busy start Saturday with a water rescue and fire.

A boater saw smoke coming from the hillside near Heavenly, called it in from their location off the Ski Run Marina at 1:29 p.m. and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and Police combed the streets in the area to try and locate the source. The fire was spotted on U.S. Forest Service land off Keller Road in between Ruby Way and Wildwood Ave.

The fire grew to about 30 feet x 30 feet before being extinguished. USFS investigators were at the scene today to look at the cause. It is in roughly the same area as two suspicious fires last summer.

Just a short time later a man ran up to Lake Tahoe Boulevard by Lakeview Commons and flagged down South Lake Tahoe Police Officer Scott Crivelli to alert him of a jet ski accident he'd just witnessed toward Timber Cove Marina. The department's Marine 1 and Crivelli rushed to Timber Cove Marina where he commandeered a jet ski and life vest from the rental company at that spot.

A jet ski driven by an adult male with female and 3-year-old daughter rolled for an unknown reason at about 2:25 p.m. All three were thrown off and were in the cold water. Crivelli brought in one victim, Marine 1 another and a paddle boarder in the area grabbed the third.

Crivelli was at the right place at the right time according to SLTPD Sgt. Travis Cabral. People in the area cheered and clapped as the three people who were involved in the accident were rescued and brought to the beach with the help of many bystanders. Medic transported the young girl and her father to the hospital. He had taken in a lot of water and she complained of chest pain, perhaps from hitting the jet ski.

All three were wearing life vests.