hypothermia

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - People at Regan Beach in South Lake Tahoe heard a man's calls for help about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, and their call to 911 brought out multiple agencies.

The 36-year-old man from Richmond, California had been kayaking about 400-500 yards offshore when his kayak starting taking on water through a hole.

Summer is here and after a snow-packed winter, locals and visitors alike are ready to get out and enjoy Lake Tahoe. Whether out on the water, lounging on the beach or hiking to a rock outcropping to take a plunge, there are important precautions to keep in mind with water surface temperatures and cold water immersion.

2:45 p.m. update: Search and rescue teams spent Sunday night dredging through deep snow and in very windy snowy conditions to locate the missing snowshoer Raymond Murdock.

The initial search for Murdock was called off in the early morning hours due to the snow and avalanche conditions, resuming Monday morning at 6:00 a.m.

Douglas County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team called in the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office was made for additional personnel and Raven for aerial observation.

A dog is lucky to be alive today after falling through ice in the Tahoe Keys Monday. He had been out for a walk with his pregnant owner when the accident occurred. A 66-year-old woman from Oregon was in the area and heard the dog-owner's calls for help and jumped in to save the dog.

When the rescuer got out of the water she was very cold and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and the Cal Tahoe JPA were called out to the scene at 12:30 p.m.

The good Samaritan was transported to Barton Hospital with a mild case of hypothermia. It is unknown if she was treated and released.

With recent water tragedies in Lake Tahoe we are republishing this 2016 article.

The most common misunderstanding about swimming in Lake Tahoe is that people can suffer from hypothermia, which leads to death. The real truth is that "cold water shock" will kill much quicker than hypothermia ever will.

"The sudden lowering of skin temperature on immersion in cold water represents one of the most profound stimuli that the body can encounter." Golden and Tipton in Essentials of Sea Survival

Summer around Tahoe is the perfect time for outdoor activities with family and friends. For some, drinking alcoholic beverages is part of the fun-in-the-sun experience. But excessive alcohol consumption and summer activities don’t mix.

A plunge into Lake Tahoe can literally take your breath away. It may be warm outside, but the lake can be dangerously cold. Lake Tahoe’s average surface temperature in the summer is 63°F, and can drop to 53°F just 18 inches below the surface.

Warming temperatures will accelerate snowpack melt across the Sierra this weekend and the National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for California and western Nevada, including the following areas: In California, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties, and Mono County. In western Nevada: Greater Lake Tahoe Area and Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area.

Flows on small creeks and streams will rise through at least early next week. Daily peak flows on small creeks and streams typically occur during the evening
and overnight hours.

When Krysinthia White’s team, 20 Percent Survival, completed the MedWAR Tahoe Challenge at the Taylor Creek Sno-Park, they knew it was not a first place finish. Yet they were still smiling after six flat tires, a bee sting, and multiple wrong turns.

“From our perspective, last place was the best place,” says White. “We had the entire lake [Fallen Leaf] to ourselves and pretty much the entire trail.”

20 Percent Survival is one of ten teams of wilderness enthusiasts and medical responders who participated in the inaugural MedWAR Tahoe Challenge on Saturday, September 17.

The most common misunderstanding about swimming in Lake Tahoe is that people can suffer from hypothermia, which leads to death. The real truth is that "cold water shock" will kill much quicker than hypothermia ever will.

"The sudden lowering of skin temperature on immersion in cold water represents one of the most profound stimuli that the body can encounter." Golden and Tipton in Essentials of Sea Survival

The Nevada Department of Wildlife is increasing their educational campaign for boaters and swimmers to understand the dangers of cold water at Lake Tahoe.

National Safe Boating Week is May 21-27, 2016 and is the launch of the 2016 North American Safe Boating Campaign. This yearlong campaign promotes safe and responsible boating and the value of voluntary, consistent life jacket wear by recreational boaters through the national theme, Wear It!

The local US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 11-04 in South Lake Tahoe is promoting the Wear It! campaign and hopes it will remind boaters of the importance of boating safely, including consistent life jacket wear, boating sober, knowing navigational rules and having a proper lookout.

Two men trying to evade arrest on January 22, ended up calling 911 and telling officers they were freezing to death and in fear of dying.

Tristen Crossland and Derek Dion were the lone occupants of a car that was pulled over by a California Fish and Wildlife officer on the morning of Friday, January 22, near Highway 50 and Wrights Lake Road when they decided to flee on foot.

Scattered afternoon thunderstorms are expected through the 4th of July holiday weekend for the Sierra and western Nevada. Heavy rain with localized flash flooding will be possible in some areas of the Sierra and surrounding valleys.

The National Weather Service in Reno has said to expect abundant lightning, small hail, erratic wind gusts up to 50 mph, and rapid drops in temperatures. Temperatures can quickly drop by 30 to 40 degrees under thunderstorms in combination with very heavy rain, which poses a hypothermia threat to those outdoors.

Tragedy struck at the 2012 SnowGlobe in South Lake Tahoe when 19 year old Alyssa Byrne became separated from her friends and died of hypothermia after falling in a snow bank after attempting to walk back to her hotel.

Out of that tragedy, the "Always My Buddy" program was developed. Alyssa's family wanted to make sure another family didn't have to go through what they did by making sure everyone that is an unfamiliar place is safe.

Nine people were rescued Saturday after their boat took on water and flipped over near Dollar Point in Lake Tahoe, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office reports.

Lt. Pete Van Arnum said El Dorado County Sheriff’s boat unit and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a report of a vessel taking on water near Dollar Point in Lake Tahoe at around 2 p.m.

It has been a very busy week for the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit. Numerous backcountry visitors were caught off guard with the arrival of this weekend’s inclement weather.
Approximately 60 SAR volunteers along with four Sheriff’s deputies responded to 11 different deployments between Friday and Wednesday. Nine of the SAR events were within the borders of El Dorado County while two were in Alpine County.