lake valley

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Time is of the essence when fire hits your home. Things can rapidly change from smoke to flames, sometimes giving those inside very little time to get outside to safety.

Even though smoke detectors have been required in new construction and in homes undergoing a remodel for decades, not all homes have working detectors. They are broken, have a dead battery, or missing completely.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) responded to Sierra House Elementary Monday after a report of smoke at the rear of the building.

The 8:02 a.m. call happened as staff and some students were arriving for the school day. Since it is remote learning at this time the school wasn't full and those that were there evacuated the building.

Cause of the smoke turned out to be a faulty heat tape and there was no damage to the structure or roof, just a rain gutter which had ice inside, according to LVFPD.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue has been able to reverse its earlier decision and is once again going to launch the decorated fire truck through the community. They will be running nightly from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. December 10-24, 2020.

Here is their schedule:

Thursday Dec 10th – Keys/Venice

Friday Dec 11th – Glenwood area

Saturday Dec 12th – Keys/State streets

Sunday Dec 13th – Barton / Tahoe Island Dr

Monday Dec 14th – South Y / Tata Ln area

Tuesday Dec 15th – Al Tahoe Blvd / Pioneer Village

Wednesday Dec 16th – Springwood / Bijou Pines

Farwell 2020! We will always remember this year, but for most of us, we are also ready to kiss it goodbye with a swift kick to the curb. Our community, like all communities has been hard hit with lost income, closed businesses, stay at home orders, COVID and virtually learning at home. We have missed socializing, travelling, entertaining and being entertained, enjoying our extended family and cannot even see a friend’s smile behind their mask. We missed so much of 2020 and it has hurt, to be honest.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - The final tabulations are now complete for El Dorado County and the November Presidential election results for the county have been certified.

Here are the final results:

City of South Lake Tahoe - Measure S (Majority to Pass)

9,667 / 12,739 75.89% of registered voters counted
558 Undervotes
2 Overvotes

Yes - 5,804 60.04%
No - 3,303 34.17%

South Lake Tahoe City Council (Top Two Win)

9,667 / 12,739 75.89% of registered voters counted
4,406 Undervotes
38 Overvotes

The time-honored tradition of Lake Valley Fire Protection District touring streets in their jurisdiction with a decorated fire engine returns starting December 11.

Due to COVID-19, the Holiday engine will not be handing out candy canes this year but all are welcome to wave and say hello from a safe social distance. Each night they start their trek between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

December 11 – Echo View Estates, Tahoe Mountain Road, Mule Deer Circle

December 12 – Lake Tahoe Blvd from Boulder Mountain Drive to Grizzly Mountain Drive

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The US Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) has lifted its closure order at Taylor Creek so people are once again allowed into the area around the creek. This is a popular area each fall due to the Kokanee Salmon run and heightened wildlife sightings and was closed to both protect bears and discourage large gatherings. The Visitor Center has seasonally closed.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The El Dorado County Elections Department tabulated another 9,614 ballots on Friday, leaving about 1,000 provisional ballots left to count.

At this time, 115,339 ballots have been counted of the possible 135,554 voters (85.09%).

Cristi Creegan and John Friedrich appear to be the next two South Lake Tahoe City councilmembers. They led the race since the first ballots were counted on election day and came out victorious in the field of ten candidates.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A portion of the bike trail between Pope Beach and West Way was closed Tuesday afternoon after a suspicious device was found near the bridge.

A concerned person who thought the device could be a pipe bomb called the El Dorado County Sheriff who responded along with Lake Valley Fire and South Lake Tahoe Fire. The device was suspicious enough that patrol called the county's EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) who came in from Placerville.

10:46 P.M. UPDATE: Both El Dorado County and Douglas County have released an updated count at this hour. For El Dorado County, 149 of 209 precincts have now been tabulated. Depending on the area, Douglas County shows about 72 percent of Tuesday's votes listed.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In an effort to get more members of the public involved in the process a walking tour map of the 56-acre project area in the middle of South Lake Tahoe has been created.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There is a new date for the public meeting on the 56-Acre Project in the heart of South Lake Tahoe. As the City of South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County work out the financial arrangement of using county land, plans are underway for how it will look. Through a grant, the California Tahoe Conservancy gave the funds needed to create the master plan for the area.

I am voting for Margie Kovarik-Maxhimer for STPUD Board of Directors because she is a leader at heart, extremely thoughtful in seeing all sides of an issue before making decisions, and she does not leave anything undone. She will follow through with ideas and projects and give this board position her all, and be transparent and ethical the whole way through.

It's so important to choose a candidate with integrity and grit - two great qualities that Margie shows in all that she does!

- Julie Lucksinger - Lake Valley Properties, Inc.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The woman who died in Lake Tahoe on Friday, October 9, 2020, has been positively identified as a 30-year-old El Paso, Texas Resident.

According to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO), Daisy Rogers had been on a boat on Lake Tahoe when she went to back of the boat and accidentally fell off. A male adult who was also on board jumped in to save her but was unable to. He was wearing a life preserver but the victim did not have one on.

On April 18, 2017 the South Lake Tahoe City Council unanimously passed a resolution to: 1) Power the South Lake Tahoe community with electricity provided from 100 percent renewable sources by 2032 and 2) Reduce community carbon emissions from baseline by at least 80 percent by 2040, and reduce municipal emissions by 50 percent by 2030.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - U.S. Highway 50 is back open to traffic over Echo Summit five days ahead of schedule, Caltrans announced today.

A full closure of Highway 50 over the summit was implemented Friday, Sept. 18 to install seven precast, prestressed 96-foot bridge girders and associated work that included pouring ultra high-performance concrete to connect the girders, building concrete barrier walls and approach slabs, applying a polyester overlay on the bridge, and asphalt paving approaching both sides of the new structure.

TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. - On Monday, August 31 at about 6:20 p.m., Sara Monroe was doing what she does a few days a week, heading from her home in Pollock Pines to her job at Barton Health in South Lake Tahoe. The CNA with the Skilled Nursing Facility had just passed Twin Bridges on US50 and was heading up the hill towards Camp Sacramento when something caught her attention, perhaps a puff of smoke off the side of the road.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Candidate paperwork is filed and we now know have a better picture of who willl appear on the ballot November 3 South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County.

For many positions the deadline was Friday, August 7, but if an incumbent chose not to run, that date was moved to August 12.

This story originally listed 11 candidates for City Council but Kevin Brunner did not get the reqfile. valid signatures to file.

As of Wednesday, August 12 at 5:00 p.m., the following candidates turned in their paperwork:

South Lake Tahoe City Council (Two open seats)

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue recently held ceremonies for the hiring of three new firefighter/paramedics and the promotion of three to the rank of captain. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, ceremonies were small and held at the fire station during their shifts.

Captain/Paramedic Mike Taormina

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Tyler Pevenage, a recent graduate of South Tahoe High School, was awarded the “Michael Hoffman Memorial Scholarship” in the amount of $1,000.

This award is sponsored by the California State Firefighters’ Association Northern Division and open to family members of firefighters.

Tyler’s outstanding academic achievement, involvement in high school sports, leadership, and volunteer work in the community earned her this scholarship that is renewable yearly up to $4,000.

Tahoe Magic wants to thank the hundreds of donors who have contributed during this COVID-19 crisis. We have received $236,893 to date in donations since mid-March and, in turn, we have helped more than 300 families, about 1500 individuals, with assistance totaling $204,094. We are spending your contributions almost as quickly as we are getting them. Every donation has gone directly back into the South Lake Tahoe community to support those needing help with basics: shelter, food and utilities.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Election Day in 2020 is on November 3, just 134 days away. There will be several elected positions opening up in South Lake Tahoe and Meyers: South Tahoe Public Utility District, South Lake Tahoe City Council, Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Trustees, Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees, and the Lake Valley Fire Board of Directors.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Multiple agencies responded to a report of a wildfire at Van Sickle Bi-State Park in South Lake Tahoe Friday afternoon about 5:00 p.m.

They were able to jump on the fire quickly, leaving less than 1/4 acre burned.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, Lake Valley Fire Protection District, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, CAL FIRE Amador-El Dorado Unit and the U.S. Forest Service all responded.

Firefighters have completed a hose lay and hand line around the fire and will remain on the scene to mop it up.

The cause is under investigation.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A subcontractor working at the site of a new Verizon cell tower near South Tahoe Public Utility District died Thursday after falling headfirst into a 35-foot by six-foot hole.