road

Most traffic-interfering work will be restricted from 6 a.m. Wednesday, November 27 until 10 p.m. Monday, December 2 due to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): Work continues on a $5.2 million project to upgrade metal beam guardrail and construct concrete barriers at 89 locations from the Red Hawk Undercrossing to 1.9 miles west of the junction with State Route 89 in Meyers. Completion is expected this fall or spring 2020.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue holiday engine schedule has been released. They will start their nightly runs at 5:00 p.m. and go until 8 p.m. In the case of a significant emergency or road conditions prohibit safe driving, a route may be postponed.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Holiday Engine Schedule

Tuesday, Dec 10 – Tahoe Keys/Venice
Wednesday, Dec 11 – Glenwood neighborhoods
Thursday, Dec 12 – Keys Blvd / State streets
Friday, Dec 13 – Barton/Tahoe Island

The Lake Valley Fire Protection District has released its much anticipated holiday fire engine schedule. They will be driving through neighborhoods in the county portions of the South Shore.

LVFPD Holiday Engine Schedule

They start about dark (5:00 p.m.) and go to 8:00 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 USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will begin the sale of Christmas tree permits on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. Permits cost $10 each payable by cash, check or credit card (though they prefer the quicker transaction of cash).

There is a change to the policy this year - only one permit will be allowed per family or per address, instead of the previous two. They said by limiting permits to one per family, more will enjoy cutting down a tree this year.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - When the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) revised their Forest Plan over 10 years ago, many wanted them to include changes to snowmobile and other winter travel access to public lands at the same time. With the amount of public comment and the recognized need to have its own plan, they separated the two.

In 2011, LTBMU started a collaborative group to develop a proposed action plan for Winter Recreation and Over Snow Vehicle (OSV) use in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 30-year-old man from Kentucky is behind bars after allegedly stealing an El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) patrol car from South Lake Tahoe.

During shift change on Wednesday morning at their South Lake Tahoe office, a deputy noticed their loaded patrol SUV was missing from the parking lot. EDSO immediately began to track the SUV and found it to be traveling westbound on US50 past Echo Summit so they advised CHP, Placerville Police Department (PPD) and EDSO units on the west slope.

7:00 p.m. update - Nevada Highway Patrol reports that all lanes of US50 have now been reopened. No other details of the crash have been released.

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7:00 pm. update - Some drivers have informed South Tahoe Now that they have been able to start moving, though very slow and with one-way controlled traffic. Officially road is still listed as closed.

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LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - All lanes of US50 at Tall Pines Road in Glenbrook are closed at this hour due to a head-on collision.

Careflight is en route according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As weather allows, Caltrans will continue work as they wrap up their projects. NOTE: Most lane closures are restricted on Monday, November 11 due to the Veterans Day holiday.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): Work continues on a $5.2 million project to upgrade metal beam guardrail and construct concrete barriers at 89 locations from the Red Hawk Undercrossing to 1.9 miles west of the junction with State Route 89 in Meyers. Completion is expected this fall or spring 2020.

Caltrans addressed what they reported to be an increase of accidents at the intersection of US50 and SR89 with a $7.3 million roundabout in Meyers, and today there was a ribbon-cutting with local partners to officially open it up.

What used to be a T-intersection with one stop sign is now a three-leg roundabout with a bypass lane. Years of studies, planning, environmental reviews, and engineering led to this past summer's build by Q&D Construction.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As the doors opened at Whole Foods in South Lake Tahoe Wednesday morning, the line that had wrapped around the building made its way into the much-anticipated store grand opening.

The line started forming at 6:00 a.m.

Carmen Elaine Withrow (Terrell) passed away peacefully on October 8th, 2019 surrounded by her loving family. A wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter and friend, she will be dearly missed by those that knew and loved her. She was a compassionate person, kind to everyone, not one to talk about others and always there for you in a time of need. She was born on June 19, 1942 at home in Whitt, Texas, the youngest of 6 children and 12 years younger than the next oldest sibling.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As road construction season in the Sierra winds down, Caltrans crews are wrapping up work for 2019 on several major projects.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): Work continues on a $5.2 million project to upgrade metal beam guardrail and construct concrete barriers at 89 locations from the Red Hawk Undercrossing to 1.9 miles west of the junction with State Route 89 in Meyers. Completion is expected this fall or spring 2020.

STATELINE, Nev. - For over 50 years, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dave Mason has been entertaining crowds, from his days as a founding member of Traffic, to his current days touring the world with his band.

The 73-year-old British rocker had to cancel his September 2019 performance in Lake Tahoe but he is now back on the road, bringing his "Feelin' Alight" tour to MontBleu on Saturday, November 2.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) will be working on the Lake Tahoe side of Kingsbury Grade on October 29 and 30. Expect single-lane closures as crews fill roadway cracking.

Small sections of Kingsbury Grade will be reduced to one lane from approximately 7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday from Meadow Drive to Tramway Drive. Motorists are advised to give extra travel time and to anticipate moderate travel delays as traffic flaggers and pilot cars alternate directions of travel. The road work schedule is subject to change.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - The PG&E power shutdown has prompted County officials to close several departments. The following County departments will be closed Monday, October 28, 2019 due to power outages:

Agriculture
Airports in Georgetown and Placerville
Building A
HHSA - Briw Road Campus
HHSA - Spring Street Campus
HHSA - Veterans Hall
Placerville Jail
Libraries (Cameron Park, Georgetown, Placerville, Pollock Pines)
Parks
Union Mine Facility
Probation
Child Support Services
Public Defender
District Attorney

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Caltrans is wrapping up their 2019 road projects in the Sierra and on the California side of Lake Tahoe.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

It's been one heck of a summer in terms of driving around town. Between Echo Summit and the Meyers roundabout, the horrible accident at Elks Club, US50 through town and then the construction at Stateline that caused delays back to Zephyr Cove in mid-September. Luckily, the Stateline issue was quickly remedied, the highway at Elks Club seems mostly repaired, and the Meyers roundabout turned out great.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) has released the "Proposed Action for the Winter Recreation and Over Snow Vehicle (OSV) Travel Management Project," and in that document are changes to snowmobile access in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

They have proposed to open OSV use (snowmobiles) to areas around the lake that have been restricted in the past and close up other areas. The plan still leaves about 50 percent of the lands managed by LTBMU open to OSV use.

The new areas proposed for OSV use

The Caples Fire has been transferred back to USFS and managed by a smaller Type 4 organization now that it is 73 percent contained. A Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team is assigned to the fire to determine what actions need to be taken to repair damage or prevent further damage from erosion and precipitation.

What started as a USFS prescribed burn on September 30 was reclassified as a wildland fire ten days later, giving crews extra and needed resources from local and state responders when winds fanned flames.

Due to severe wind concerns, PG&E has notified 209,000 customers in 15 counties they may have to proactively turn off power for safety reasons in Northern California beginning late Wednesday evening. The PG&E website has been down, but when working updated information can be found here - http://pge.com/pspsupdates.

The list of affected communities:

AMADOR (13,131 customers)
Amador City, Fiddletown, Jackson, Martell, Pine Grove, Pioneer, Plymouth, River Pines, Sutter Creek, Volcano

BUTTE (23,452 customers)

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and California State Parks may continue prescribed fire operations over the next several weeks in the Tahoe Basin, if weather and conditions permit.

- West side of Third Creek drainage, above Jennifer Dr. by the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District. 38 acres of understory 10/21 - 10/27/19. Duration of Ignition and Smoke Production: 1-2 days of ignition and 2 days of burn down time
Estimated Direction of Smoke Travel: North/Northeast/East. Smoke may be visible throughout the Tahoe Basin and surrounding communities

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Two suspects are being sought in connection with a "quick change" scam at the Roundhill Safeway this summer.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is working on the cold case and are asking for the public's assistance in identifying the male and female pictured above.

They were at Safeway during mid-summer. The store is located at 212 Elks Point Road.

Please contact Investigator Scott Battcher at 775-782-9905 with any information leading to the identity of the subjects. Reference case number: 19SO18311.

Update: El Dorado County has announced that this meeting is postponed "due to unforeseen circumstances" and will be held on a later date TBD.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - There will be the second of three Town Hall meetings held by El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel on Wednesday, October 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Meeks Bay Fire Station, 8041 Emerald Bay Road, Meeks Bay.

Firefighters working on the Caples Fire made good progress on Sunday. They tied in and secured two indirect containment lines on the south side of the fire with a successful tactical firing operation. The area the fire is burning in is exceptionally steep, rugged, with no road access - conditions not safe for direct line construction. Today’s burning and the fire’s natural progression in the past three days has been a low-intensity underburn, consistent with the objectives of the ecological restoration project. The night shift Sunday will monitor and hold established containment lines.