back country

Good morning Lake Tahoe skiers and riders! If you are visiting, welcome to Lake Tahoe!

Shaping up to be a great day for early season turns. Cold temps are allowing resorts to continue to make snow and open more lifts and runs. Ski and ride with care!

TODAY’S WEATHER: Expect Partly Cloudy Skies with Highs 32F-37F (22F-27F on the Slopes) with East Winds around 10mph & possible Ridge Gusts up to 60mph.
TONIGHT: Partly Cloudy then Clearing with overnight Lows 8F to 18F. East winds around 10 mph shifting to SW up to 10mph after midnight.

Woodcutting permits on the Eldorado National Forest have been changed to allow larger standing dead conifer trees to be cut for firewood. A minimum of tTwo cords of wood can be cut for $15 per cord.

"This change in our woodcutting permits will encourage removal of potentially dangerous roadside hazard trees," said forest supervisor Laurence Crabtree. "Fire and bark beetles have left a lot of dead trees which could fall across forest roads, particularly the less traveled roads in the back country."

Six meadows in the southern portion of the Lake Tahoe Basin will be restored using a combination of tree removal, prescribed fire, stream channel repair, planting vegetation and rerouting trails starting in Spring 2017.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) made the announcement today of what is being called the Restoration of Fire Adapted Ecosystems Project.

It has been about 18 months since the Cal Tahoe JPA voted to spend $192,000 on badly needed EKG monitors for the nine ambulances that serve the South Lake Tahoe and Meyers area. As of March 31, not a dime has been spent due to a division between the two fire departments that are part of the JPA.

"I don't want public safety to get in the way of politics," said SLT City Councilman Tom Davis at Thursday's emergency JPA meeting. Davis is one of two Council representatives on the JPA board. The other is Mayor Wendy David.

The following is the ski, snowboard and weather report for Saturday, January 30, 2016 for South Lake Tahoe brought to you by Lake Tahoe SkiBum.

Winter Storm Warning until 10:00 a.m.

Weather - South Lake Tahoe will have a high of 36 and a low tonight of 18. Today: Snow. High near 36. West wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. Tonight: RSnow. Low around 18. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

It's going to be a white Christmas in Lake Tahoe, with heavy snow expected throughout the day Thursday, leaving an expected extra foot of snow at lake level by Friday morning.

If you are traveling you can expect road controls from chains or snow tire requirements to chains or 4WD with snow tires.

Boulder, Colorado has one. Portland, Oregon has one. Even Roseville and Truckee, California have one. If plans go as they appeared to during a presentation at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, South Lake Tahoe will soon have one.

What is it?

"It" is a combination BMX track and mountain bike skills park which will be located at the city owned Bijou Park.

Bijou Bike Park Association (BBPA) and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) President Ben Fish laid out the proposed plan to the Council and community.

With the major forest fires burning throughout California, Oregon and Washington, it's a good time to remind everyone that there are fire restrictions in place in South Lake Tahoe.

The City of South Lake Tahoe and the U.S. Forest Service both have fire bans in place. Campfires and charcoal barbecues have been restricted to designated forest service recreation sites in the Lake Tahoe Basin since June 26, even if campers and back country hikers have a fire permit.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Search and Rescue teams were called out twice on Friday evening, once to the Cascade Falls area and the other to Vikingsholm.

The first call came in just before 5 p.m. on Friday, March 15. Two women from Illinois were hiking near Cascade Falls and became lost. They called 911. While waiting to be located, the women came across other hikers who assisted them in returning to the camp ground where they were met by Search and Rescue at approximately 6 p.m. No injuries were reported.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This fishing report is for Aug. 1-7.

Cell phones equipped with GPS technology helped in two successful search and rescue missions in South Lake Tahoe over the weekend.
On Saturday a fast-moving weather front moved into the Lake Tahoe area, creating blizzard-like conditions. The storm caught visiting San Diego resident Robert Barber by surprise. He had gone for a walk into the woods off Kiowa Street in South Lake Tahoe and at around 2 p.m. as the storm intensified, he became disoriented due to almost zero visibility.

On Sunday, February 12, 2012, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team hosted a joint training with the 1-168th Medevac Wing of the California National Guard and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team. Training was conducted in and around Emerald Bay State Park. The 1-168th Medevac Wing, based at Mather Army Air Field Base near Sacramento, brought two Blackhawk helicopters equipped for search and rescue operations with hoists as well as their crew of Chiefs and Medics.