Unauthorized #Lake2o event brings 300-400 cars to South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A large group of car enthusiasts on top of an already busy summer weekend created a hectic weekend for South Lake Tahoe area law enforcement.

Dubbed #Lake2o, a social media-organized group of about 300-400 modified car owners converged on the town starting Thursday and went through Monday morning, taking over parking lots, parking garages and filling city streets.

South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) was not aware of the group until they pulled into town, leaving them to quickly increase staffing levels to deal with the 535 calls for service received by SLTPD over the weekend. Many calls into 911 were concerned with the loud vehicles and the behaviors of the drivers in neighborhoods, around businesses and on the highway.

“We understand Tahoe is a place people want to escape during this time, but they have to be respectful of the place we call home,” said SLTPD Chief David Stevenson.

The event reached its peak on Saturday when SLTPD requested help from other agencies including El Dorado County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol. Douglas County Sheriff's Office had to deal with the cars on their side of the state line as well as they were driven up and down the casino corridor to provide a show for those watching on the sidewalks. There was also an attack on a security guard at the resort.

“We added five extra officers to deal with people and cars,” said SLTPD Lt. Travis Cabral. “We focused on traffic violations, noise, reckless driving, and large gatherings at various local business in addition to the regular summer call volume.”

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) had several calls for service involving the Lake2o car show as well. Between August 13 and August 16, 2020, DCSO Stateline deputies responded to 208 calls for service. Out of the 208 calls for service 25 were related to the Lake2o motor vehicles. The calls for service ranged from speeding, parking, and one DUI arrest. The first call for service was at 1:21 p.m. on August 13 and the last call was 12:47 a.m. on August 16. DCSO also received a report that MontBleu security officers were battered during an incident involving persons participating in the car show by being shoved to the ground. DCSO has reached out to MontBleu Security and they confirmed they are not interested in filing any reports at this time.

None of the participants were abiding by county or state pandemic rules for gathering and very few wore face coverings.

Law enforcement started following the Lake2o Instagram page and officers contacted the social media organizer several times on Saturday to deal with the group. Because of this, the event organizer (name unknown at this time) decided to cancel any events he had planned Sunday.

South Tahoe Now reached out to him via a text, phone call and message on Instagram, but they were not returned. South Tahoe Now has since been blocked from the group Instagram account #Lake2o. He had announced he'd been in South Lake Tahoe Tuesday to clean up the Chateau garage but Chief Stevenson thinks that has been changed.

In South Lake Tahoe the cars did "donuts" and "burnouts", leaving marks at the Whole Foods Market parking lot and at the TJ Maxx parking lot, both scenes of late night meet-ups. The unfinished parking lot at the Chateau at Stateline became a daytime hub for the group.

Not only were the streets impacted by the group, several vacation home rentals were full of participants, many who used their loud cars to go up and down the neighborhood streets at all hours.

Lake2o had been in the Lake Tahoe for two previous years according to Instagram but didn't cause the problems associated with this year's event.

These types of street car events are showing up in other cities as well. Last fall Ocean City, Maryland banned them after participants became unrully.