tahoe douglas

The Tahoe Chamber announced the nominations Tuesday for the 2015 Blue Ribbon Awards. There were 150 nominations received from the community for their annual awards program that recognizes exceptional South Shore businesses for excellence in service, entrepreneurship and experience among other areas.

A fire in the air handling unit at Montbleu Resort in South Lake Tahoe forced the evacuation of all casino and convention center patrons on Friday evening.

According to Eric Guevin, Fire Marshal for the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, the motor of the air handling unit caught on fire, forcing smoke into the hallway between the convention center and the casino floor.

One ambulance and fire engine from South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue responded along with four engines from Tahoe Douglas.

In 2012, Page and Sage was started in order to address the growing problem of hungry children in South Lake Tahoe with the help of Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club. With over 2,000 students qualifying for free or reduced breakfasts and lunches in the community, the need for extra food in homes was apparent then, just as it is now.

Volunteers from the South Shore community have stepped up to adopt, and maintain, the decorative gateways signs that welcome motorists to the Lake Tahoe basin.

The signs read, “Entering the Lake Tahoe Watershed – Help Protect It!” They are meant to remind the millions of people who visit Tahoe each year that they are entering a special place and share a duty to help protect its famously clear waters and unique environment.

Each year the Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club holds their signature fundraiser, the St. Patrick's Day Celebration, and because of this they are able to give away tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, grants and gifts to members of the community.

On Friday, local non-profits were handed the fruits of the Rotarian's labor at their annual community donation day.

This year, the following groups received a donation either at the meeting or during the school year:
Zephyr Cove Elementary School
Boy Scouts Troop 468
Boy Scouts Troop 594
WHittell High Boosters

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District recently purchased new crew facility Station #22, which will act as quarters for the Tahoe Douglas Zephyr Crew. The public is invited to tour the new facility and celebrate the Tahoe Douglas Zephyr Crew on Tuesday, July 28 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tahoe Chamber will officiate a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

For the second year in a row, celebrities taking part in the American Century Golf Championship have visited a Tahoe Douglas Rotary meeting during tournament week.

This year, Hall of Famer Steve Young and former NFL coach Herman "Herm" Edwards joined the local community group for an hour of honest observations and questions and answers.

"It's fun to be with you," Young told the intimate group of Rotarians and their guests. "I feel comfortable here at home in 49er country. If I ever got into trouble I know you guys could hide me."

Douglas County Emergency Management is currently working on managing the storms that are currently passing through Douglas County. Areas of concern are the flood prone areas of the Fish Springs, Johnson Lane, Foothill Road and Topaz Ranch Estates.

Current road closures at this time in Douglas County are East Valley Road near Eldon Way in the Johnson Lane area. Precautions should be taken when driving along roads that have steep embankments alongside such as SR207 Kingsbury Grade for falling rocks and debris.

There's a new show in town, and tens of thousands of people will get to see it for the first time on Independence Day.

While many South Lake Tahoe fireworks fans might not even notice, this year's stunning "Lights on the Lake" pyrotechnical performance is now being created by world-renowned 'Fireworks by Grucci' out of New York.

Grucci is a sixth-generation family owned company who owns two Guinness World Records and have been putting on fireworks shows around the world since 1850. They are known as the "First Family of Fireworks."

7:15 p.m. update:

The storm passed through and the concert is back on.

Original Story

The 6,000 people attending the Reggae Festival at the Hard Rock Lake Tahoe are being evacuated because of lightning in the area.

Several strikes of lightning in the South Lake Tahoe area Saturday evening prompted the necessity to get the people out according to Tahoe Douglas Fire Marshal Eric Guevin. He was expecting the open the venue back up as soon as safe. As of 6:45 p.m. Saturday, the lightening was in the ridge about Glenbrook.

Fire pits. The outdoor means to a perfect s'more and good conversation around a fire on a cool summer evening. But, in the midst of a drought are they safe? Are they legal when fire restrictions are in place?

There are three fire district jurisdictions just in South Lake Tahoe, along with the U.S. Forest Service, and they all have different rules concerning the backyard fire pit. One thing they all do share is for residents and visitors to be smart about fire and to not be careless.

Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club recently awarded $14,000 in scholarships to students at Whittell and South Tahoe High Schools.

The winners are:

The Whittell High School students granted a scholarship this year for academic achievements were Subrina Trachsel, Mikayla Warner, and Bryce Bronken. The vocational scholarship went to Stephanie Martin.

At South Tahoe High School. Michael Herring and Corey McCarthy were each awarded vocational scholarship of $2,000 each.

Every year, South Lake Tahoe fire agencies prepare to fight fires around the basin but they rarely get to practice evacuations of residents.

That opportunity came on Monday when the Tahoe Douglas Fire District and Skyland Fire Adapted Community executed an inter-agency wildfire evacuation drill in the Skyland neighborhood.

The drill simulated a real evacuation event to give residents the opportunity to practice evacuating from their homes and getting to the designated safe zone.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire District and Skyland Fire Adapted Community will execute an inter-agency wildfire evacuation drill on Monday, June 8, 2015 between the hours of 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The drill will simulate a real evacuation event to give residents the opportunity to practice evacuating from their homes and getting to the designated safe zone. Situations which could cause a neighborhood evacuation would be a wildfire, earthquake, hazardous spill or some other catastrophic event.

Douglas County homeowners have an opportunity to compost their residential yard waste early this fire season when TDFPD hosts a kickoff event for Compost Your Combustibles with coffee and donuts on Saturday, May 23 at 9am. The free annual recycling program which historically has started on Memorial Day Weekend is now open at Heavenly Mountain Resort’s Boulder Lodge Parking Lot.

Rain may have moved the ceremony indoors, but spirits weren't dampened as the South Lake Tahoe Police Department honored some of their own on Thursday in honor of National Peace Officer's Memorial Day.

"We are normal people who are asked to do extraordinary tasks," SLT Police Chief Brian Uhler told the audience of the officer's families, friends, City Council, city staff, community members and other area law enforcement including the El Dorado County Sheriff, CHP and the FBI.

A large oven fire at MontBleu Resort Wednesday afternoon caused the evacuation of 200 people from the casino and sent two people to the hospital with smoke related complaints.

Just after 3 p.m., Tahoe Douglas Fire received a call about a fire at the South Shore casino. The fire department responded with a full structure fire team according to Fire Marshal Eric Guevin.

"When we got there we found significant amount of fire and smoke," Guevin told South Tahoe Now. "Casino staff had tried to extinguish the fire with three extinguishers."

Two Whittell High School juniors, Chris Evans and Aubrey Felton, are working on their Eagle Scout rank. The young men aren't doing any textbook effort and have set their goals very high with taking on a hands-on project at a school in Thailand.

To raise the funds needed to complete the project, Evans and Felton have joined forces with the Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club in putting on Burger Night at the Red Hut Cafe Ski Run location on Wednesday, May 6 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

It took South Lake Tahoe firefighters just 15 minutes to put out an early morning fire in the Sierra Tract neighborhood that caused one minor injury and claimed the lives of two dogs that lived in the house.

The emergency call came into dispatch at 1:32 a.m. Thursday, April 30. Nine units responded from the South Lake Tahoe, Cal Fire, Lake Valley Fire and Tahoe Douglas Fire departments with a total of 16 personnel. Once the fire was under control, Tahoe Douglas units were released to cover the city while others stayed on scene for over two hours to clean up the scene.

Investigators say a woman arrested for a fire that severely injured a Fresno fire captain has a history with fire. Julia Harper, 52, is jailed on charges of setting a fire causing great bodily injury. Fire Captain Pete Dern was nearly killed while trying to put out the fire Harper allegedly started.

On March 29, 2015, Fresno Fire Captain Pete Dern fell through the roof of a burning home, resulting in severe burns over 70% of his body. In the days since the accident, firefighters and other concerned people from around the country have been sending both prayers and money to the family.

The outpouring of support is also evident on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. On Sunday, April 19, the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and The Local 2441 are putting on a pancake breakfast to raise money for the mounting expenses for Dern and his family.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations next week, beginning Monday, April 6, 2015, weather permitting. Operations are scheduled to take place in Blackwood Canyon between Tahoe City and Tahoma, on the south side of Meeks Bay, on Gardner Mountain near South Tahoe High School and off Gardner Street, in the Tahoe Keys, on Luther Pass near Grass Lake, at Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, on upper Kingsbury Grade and on the East Shore near Logan Creek Drive.

Friday morning 10 a.m.: Phone call comes in to the Evans home in Round Hill, Nevada. There is major flooding in the country of Malawi and his help is needed.

Friday afternoon 3 p.m: Ryder Evans is on a plane to the African nation for at least a two week stay.

Knowing that not all South Lake Tahoe kids plan on heading to a four-year college, John McDougall wanted to help those students find their vocational path.

And he is accomplishing this in two ways: Pay it Forward Scholarships and with a High School Mentoring Program.

"I'm helping kids that are taking the vocational path," said the 1972 South Tahoe high graduate.