160 homes "evacuated" during South Lake Tahoe emergency drill

Though long awaited precipitation decided to fall in South Lake Tahoe Thursday, the Neighborhood Evacuation Drill still went ahead as planned.

"The drill went very well," said SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston. "Overall a success with lessons learned.

He said there was great interagency cooperation with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Search and Rescue, El Dorado County STAR and South Lake Tahoe Action teams, Public Works department, and the Red Cross all joining the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department in the drill.

The drill took place in the Highland Woods neighborhood and involved approximately 160 homes.

Meston said one thing that needs to be worked on is getting residents signed up for Reverse 911 alerts. To register to receive Reverse 911 calls to either or both your home landline and your mobile phone line go to http://ready.edso.org/. It is very easy to sign up and you are allowed to sign up two different phone numbers and two different email addresses along with your physical address.

Such emergencies could include but are not limited to:

· Evacuations
· Threatening floods or fires
· Hazardous material spills
· Terrorist threats and other urgent law enforcement operations