highway

The Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) has released the name of the driver killed in Friday's head on collision on Kingsbury Grade that also injured South Lake Tahoe residents.

An old, blue building on the corner of Highway 50 and Sawmill Road adjacent to the Upper Truckee River is being demolished, and the sensitive land it sits on will be restored to natural wetlands.

The building is near the site of the historic Ethel's Pie Shop.

The 1.05 acre parcel was acquired by the California Tahoe Conservancy under its Tahoe Livable Communities Program in December 2015.

Kingsbury Grade was closed for several hours Friday after a collision between a motorhome and a Nissan Pathfinder sent several victims to area hospitals and resulted in the death of one of the drivers.

At 1:30 p.m., the two vehicles collided about 1.5 miles down from the summit on the valley side of the road. One person from each vehicle had to be extricated according to Fire Marshall Eric Guevin of Tahoe Douglas Fire Department.

Care Flight landed at the bottom of Kingsbury Grade to transport the victims.

A man attempting to cross Highway 50 east of Lakeview Avenue sustained non-life threatening injuries after he was hit by a car at 6:53 p.m. Monday.

According to witness statements, the 52-year-old transient tried to cross the road from the lake side of the road, paused in the center lane, then ran across the eastbound lanes. He was struck in the fast lane by a car driven by a 32-year-old man from Stateline. Those witnesses said the pedestrian was possibly under the influence of alcohol when he was hit. He was transported to the hospital.

The City of South Lake Tahoe organized a celebration to honor, not only the City's police officers, but all men and women who serve the South Shore. It was held at Lakeview Commons and El Dorado Beach on Thursday.

Members of the Nevada Highway Patrol, Douglas County Sheriff's Office, El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, Search and Rescue, STAR volunteers, Probation Department, SLEDNET, USFS and the FBI all joined in the celebration with the public who came to give their thanks.

Not only was there a free BBQ for the honorees, there was also a free concert on the beach.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS
State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

As of Tuesday's Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Board meeting, no applications for the open seat on the board had been completed and filed, though two are expected according to Shannon Chandler, Dr. Jim Tarwater's Executive Assistant.

The seat opened up when Ginger Nicolay-Davis, the Board Member from Trustee Area 2, had to leave the board when she was hired by LTUSD as a speech pathologist.

Thousands of drivers pass by this tree on a weekly basis, but how many of them know of, or see, the memorial plaque sitting in a tree high above the road near the intersection of Highway 50 and Ski Run Blvd in South Lake Tahoe.

Long-time local resident, and veteran, Ken "Tahoe SkiBum" Curtzwiler placed the "9-11 Never Forget" in the tree at 1:00 a.m. on September 10, 2003 and it has remained in place ever since.

Two bicyclists riding westbound on Highway 50 near Lodi Avenue in South Lake Tahoe sustained minor injuries after they hit by a suspected drunk driver just before 11:00 a.m. Saturday.

The driver, 27-year-old Charles English of South Lake Tahoe, fled the scene and was later located by law enforcement, according to South Lake Tahoe Police Sgt. Travis Cabral.

A high speed pursuit that started near Sierra-at-Tahoe on Wednesday ended with the suspect crashing his 2006 BMW and being airflighted off the highway due to his injuries.

On September 7, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer spotted 27-year-old Allen Elseth from Lodi, Calif., driving at high rates of speed and crossing over the double-yellow lines on Highway 50 near the ski resort exit.

Low-cost community flu vaccination clinics will start in South Lake Tahoe on September 28 and on October 5 on the West Slope.

The El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency, Public Health Nursing will be conducting the clinics through mid-November for just $10 per vaccine. No one will be denied service due to inability to pay.

The eighth fire in ten days broke out early Wednesday morning in South Lake Tahoe, this time on Edna Street near Pioneer Trail. Just under one-half of an acre of National Forest Service land burned in the 12:30 a.m. fire which burned a short distance away from Friday's Ralph Drive fire.

Firefighters from US Forest Service, South Lake Tahoe, Lake Valley and Cal Fire all responded and got the fire under control quickly, and had the area contained with a wet line by 6:46 a.m.

Here is a breakdown of the recent fires:

12:00 p.m. update Sept. 6: A 27-year-old woman from San Francisco was hit by a car Monday as she attempted to run across Highway 89 in South Lake Tahoe. The driver, a 55-year-old man from Chatsworth, Calif., was driving northbound and did not see the woman as she ran across the five lanes from the 7-11 store to Sonney's BBQ Shack just before 6:00 p.m.

Neither identities have been released. The driver stopped immediately and was cooperative with investigators. Alcohol or other driver/pedestrian impairment is not a factor in the crash.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county.

The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at press time and the story will be updated when provided.

8/28

12:19 a.m. - Contributing to deliNquency - Crystal Air Dr - 15-YEAR-OLD FEMALE JUVENILE ARRESTED FOR CONTRIBUTING TO A MINOR AND PUBLIC INTOXICATION.

12:09 p.m. - Offensive Words - Al Tahoe Bl - A 47-YEAR-OLD MALE INMATE WAS CHALLENGED TO FIGHT A 32-YEAR-OLD MALE INMATE WHILE IN CUSTODY.

The stretch of Highway 50 from Stateline to Spooner Summit (known as the corridor) will be looked at in the near future to address numerous safety concerns from cars parked on the side to unsafe intersections.

At the last meeting of the Tahoe Transportation District Board of Directors, several residents spoke up about safety, and offered several ideas to correct the issues.

A woman driving on a country road on the rims of her car is suspected of starting multiple fires which make up the Willow Fire, a 450-acre fire currently burning in Calaveras County.

An investigation by peace officers with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Tuolumne – Calaveras Unit determined that Renee Hogan drove on a flat tire along Mountain Ranch Road, east of the town of San Andreas, when sparks created from the dragging metal rim started several fires in the surrounding vegetation.

Most lane closures will be restricted from 6 a.m. Friday, September 2 until 8 p.m. Tuesday, September 6 because of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

Donald Trump and the almost 900 attendees at Friday night's fundraising dinner at Harrah's Tahoe most likely didn't see or hear the protesters outside, but passing cars and pedestrians sure did.

A small group of protesters started standing on the corner of Stateline Avenue and Lake Tahoe Blvd at 5:00 p.m., waiving signs and chanting anti-Trump sentiments. Honks and clapping greeted the group outside, while those inside paid $200 to $500 a person to attend the 2016 Battle Ground Dinner, sponsored by the Nevada Republican Party.

Construction and maintenance work will cause day and night time traffic delays along a 45-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 50 between Camino and Echo Summit over the next three months, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has announced.

Crews will be setting up lane restrictions on the four-lane section of U.S. 50 in the Camino area and one-way traffic control on the two-lane stretch of highway over the summit. Motorists can expect up to 20-minute delays. These lane restrictions will continue through the end of November, weather permitting.

An appreciation of all of the law enforcement agencies that are assigned to protect the South Shore of the Lake Tahoe Basin will be the focus of Law Enforcement Day at Lakeview Commons in South Lake Tahoe on Thurday, September 15 at 5:00 p.m.

The public is invited to show support of the the men and women of the California Highway Patrol, Douglas County Sheriff's Office, El Dorado County Probation, El Dorado County Sheriff including STAR and SAR, the FBI (South Lake Tahoe Division), SLEDNET, South Lake Tahoe Police Department and USFS Law Enforcement.

A Pollock Pines man stole a large motorhome from a dealership in Rancho Cordova Saturday morning and led authorities on a high-speed chase for more than 30 miles, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Paul Erik Nelson, 40, was arrested and charged with vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, parole violation, county probation violation and vandalism. He was booked into the El Dorado County jail. His bail has been set at $85,000.

1:50 p.m. update 8/21: Fire officials have updated the acreage burned in Saturday's fire at the Carson River Resort. 29 acres burned have burned and fire fighters are in mop up mode.

The fire is now 60 percent contained.

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8:00 a.m. update 8/21: Firefighters have been able to get a 40 percent containment line around the Carson Fire which has burned 50 acres around the Carson River Resort south of Markleeville.

As the annual Shakespeare Festival on the North Shore winds down, organizers want to alert Bard fans of possible delays on getting to the event at Sand Harbor, both from the north and the south ends of the lake.

Construction has begun on Highway 28, and continues on Highway 50 around Cave Rock and on Spooner Summit. Lane closures are involved, so allow extra time to get to the the park which is located just south of Incline Village.

A Dayton, Nevada man driving the wrong way on a stretch of Highway 50 near the V & T train track overpass in Carson City caused a major injury accident on Saturday night just before midnight.

Steven Stults, 52, was in his Mazda pick-up, traveling west in the eastbound lanes of the highway when he struck a Saturn driven by Victoria Dwyer, 25, also of Dayton. In the backseat of Dwyer's car were her two small children.