homes

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - On June 24, 2007, the Angora Fire started at an illegal campfire at about 2:15 p.m. near North Upper Truckee Road in Meyers. The wind driven wildfire consumed 3,100 acres, destroyed 242 homes and 67 commercial structures, and damaged 35 other homes. As many as 2,180 firefighters battled the blaze with was 100% contained by July 2. There will be several community events to mark this tragic anniversary.

Thursday, June 22

Igniting on June 24, 2007, the Angora Fire rapidly spread to over 3,100 acres, destroying 254 homes, 75 commercial structures and resulting in more than $141 million in damages. In response to this disaster, an Emergency California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission was formed to conduct a comprehensive review of the laws, policies and practices that affect the vulnerability of the Tahoe Basin to wildfires.

The much anticipated socio-economic study of the impact vacation home rentals (VHR) have on South Lake Tahoe has been released.

Michael Baker International was hired by the City to complete the study and create the report to identify emerging impacts of a growing industry, particularly impacts that may be directly affecting residents and persons who work in the city. They teamed with California State University, Sacramento on the project.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has published the summer 2017 edition of Tahoe In Depth, a special issue on “Remembering Angora” to mark the 10-year anniversary of the wildfire this June.

The Angora Fire is the most destructive wildfire in memory at Lake Tahoe. Sparked on June 24, 2007 by an illegal and abandoned campfire, the fire quickly burned 3,100 acres and destroyed 254 homes and structures.

5/29/17 10:45 p.m. update: All of the evacuated residents are now back home after Southwest Gas crews were able to stop the leak and repair the broken main line. At this time those crews are going into each apartment and relighting pilot lights.

According to SLTFR Battalion Chief Jim Drennan the cause of the broken line is unknown. The main is located alongside the apartment's parking lot but the break occurred underground.

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In a unanimous decision during their May 24 meeting, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board voted to release 240 housing allocations to jurisdictions in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

After concern was raised during their April 26 meeting, the TRPA Governing Board's Local Government Committee met on May 11 to address the use of residential

This June is wildfire awareness month at Lake Tahoe. It also marks the 10th anniversary of the Angora Fire, the most destructive wildland fire in memory at Tahoe.

An illegal and abandoned campfire started the Angora Fire on June 24, 2007. The fire quickly spread toward Meyers, stoked by strong winds and forests overgrown with hazardous fuels. In a few days, the fire burned 3,100 acres and destroyed 254 homes.

Going away is the Knight's Inn, and in its place will be Bijou Market Place. Halferty Development today announced the name of their South Lake Tahoe project that was formerly known as Bijou Park Creek Watershed Management Southwest Corner Project.

During Thursday's Planning Commission meeting, the commissioners unanimously adopted the resolution that certified the project's Initial Study, Mitigated Negative Declaration, Initial Environmental Checklist and Mitigated Finding of no significant affect. They also approved the permits so now Halferty Development can move forward.

Short-term vacation rentals in the Sierra from Truckee to Bear Valley earned more money this winter and brought in more guests than in the past, according to a report released by Airbnb.

More than 185,000 visitors booked rooms or homes from Airbnb hosts during the 2016-17 winter, up 48 percent from last winter. Also on the rise were earnings by hosts, revealing the surge of short-term rentals that have put neighbors against neighbors, and had community leaders grappling with their impact on neighborhoods.

For the next 75 days the public is encouraged to comment on environmental documents concerning the US 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project, also known as the Loop Road.

Jointly, the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD), Federal Highway Administration, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency released the Environment Impact Statement (NEPA), Environmental Impact Report (CEQA), and Environmental Impact Statement (TRPA). All of these detailed reports are available on line here: tahoetransportation.org/us50.

For the third in four years, water in Douglas County has won the Best Tasting Water award for the state of Nevada.

The Nevada Rural Water Association (NvRWA) announced that the Cave Rock Water Treatment Plant had won first place at their recent conference in Reno. The service area includes Cave Rock, Lakeside and Skyland systems next to beautiful Lake Tahoe.

Cities around the country are having ongoing discussions and debates about single family homes in their community being used as short-term vacation rentals. South Lake Tahoe is not alone in this issue which has pitted home owners vs. home owners vs. community members. As with any divisive issue, there is no easy answer.

With the warm spell of late, at lake level it looks like the big snow storms never happened. However, go up above 8,000 feet and you see a much different picture. Atop Heavenly’s Dipper Chair there is an information shack that is between 8-10 feet high. Next to it is 10 foot high signage indicating where the runs are. As of today, you can’t see either of these. Over 50 feet of snow fell up there and even with the melt and the settling, there is still a ton of white stuff. I expect our streams will be flowing into August and our mountains might stay white throughout the summer.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office has warrants out for the arrest of two women in connection with a series of burglaries and burglary-related crimes in the county. One of the suspects is also a suspect in a number of burglaries currently under investigation by the Truckee Police Department, and the Carson City and Douglas County Sheriff’s Offices.

Humans produce carbon pollution. It's no secret. When we drive our cars, heat and light our homes, grow our food... we emit CO2. All around the world, habitats called carbon sinks have absorbed approximately 25% of this carbon pollution reducing the risk of global warming impacts without imposing a monetary cost on society.

Water conservation efforts in California have saved 2.51 million acre-feet of water since June of 2105. This is enough water to provide 6.24 million homes with water for a year, or almost one-third of the state's population.

Since state-mandated water restrictions have been in place, the cumulative statewide savings has been 22.5 percent, when compared with the previous 18-month period.

Since June 2015, the 817.9 billion gallons saved is enough water to supply more than 12.5 million people with water for a year has been saved at the state level.

The following 62 businesses took out business licenses with the City of South Lake Tahoe during the month of January:

1/3/17
3686 APARTMENTS
CUCHNA CAPITAL LLC 3
GLAZED & CONFUZED TAHOE DONUT LLC
JEAN DUPLEXES
THE HOLMAN FAMILY TRUST

1/4/17
APARTMENTS - 3820 PENTAGON
APARTMENTS - 3824 PENTAGON
CLARITY AND BLISS BODYWORK
FARR RENTALS
FLOOR TECH INC
HEAGY CONSTRUCTION IMPROVEMENTS
MARK WOODLEY FIRE PROTECTION
VILLA RUSSO

1/5/17
CORAL PROPERTY MANAGER
TRI WEST HOMES INC

1/6/17
1032 4TH ST APARTMENTS
FIRESIDE LODGE BED & BREAKFAST
MARK & LORI BURWELL

The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Radon Education Program is offering free radon test kits and an educational presentation about radon on Thursday, March 2 at 6:00 p.m. at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) offices.

Free radon test kits will be available for Nevada residents and test kits can be purchased at low-cost for out-of-state residents.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners have declared a State of Emergency due to a flood and wind event that took place over the last couple of days. The flood event is supposed to continue into the duration of the weekend. The declaration has been submitted to the State of Nevada and will allow regional partners to speed up the delivery of resources required to more effectively aid in requesting additional resources, aid in recovery, and meet the needs of the community during a time of crisis.

There were several areas through South Lake Tahoe that experienced flooding on Tuesday as rain from an atmospheric river hit the region, with two Meyers area streets getting the brunt of the storm.

Caltrans, El Dorado County and City of South Lake Tahoe crews, along with homeowners worked through the day to get standing water off the road, out of driveways and even homes.

Rain and snow flows during the atmospheric river storm that hit South Lake Tahoe in January created more than double the normal flow through the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD).

On a normal 4th of July, when most beds are filled in local homes and motels, STPUD sees about five million gallons go through the sewer plant, but with the large amounts of snow and rain on roads and in yards, 12.57 million gallons flowed through the plant on January 8, 2017.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. - The January 7, 2017 storm that hit the Sierra Nevada and brought with it over 5 inches of rain before several feet of snow, also brought along some records, too.

During this storm event the Tahoe Resource Conservaton District (TRCD) Stormwater Monitoring Program measured the highest flows ever recorded at all eight of their monitoring locations since monitoring began in 2013. The Tahoe Valley site, located off Tahoe Keys Blvd., measured 1.5 million cubic feet of flow, nearly 90 percent of the flow that was observed throughout the whole 2016 water year!

The historic building that housed a liquor store and other businesses in South Lake Tahoe suffered significant damage after a heavy snow load contributed to the collapse of the building's roof early Monday morning.

Twenty-five years ago, I finished my graduate work in Oregon and moved to Northern Nevada for a planning position at TRPA. Having spent a large part of my youth hiking and camping at Tahoe and in the Sierra, the move felt like coming home.