News

NV Energy reports 1,062 customers at Lake Tahoe between Stateline and Glenbrook still do not have power. At this time they expect restoral by 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Liberty Utilities reports 6.050 customers of theirs around Lake Tahoe remain without power as well, with expected restoral by noon Monday. Most of the outages are on the South Shore but there are areas around Fallen Leaf Lake, Kings Beach, and a couple of other pockets still out as well.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe Unified School District ILTUSD) made the following announcement today:

Greetings LTUSD Families,

Due to heavy snow, no power in several schools (and communities), down trees, roads not cleared and campuses not quite ready, all LTUSD schools will be closed on Monday, December 12, 2022.

Please be safe. Thanks for your understanding.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A large portion of Liberty Utilities customers on the South Shore, and some spread around Lake Tahoe are without power Sunday morning.

Most were restored by 1:30 a.m. this morning, but it was short-lived with power going out again after 5 a.m.

Crews are working to get the power restored and, according to the outage website, they hope the power is up by 8 a.m., after that for Portala and North Shore.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - An Incline Village, Nev. man was arrested Thursday night after a stolen car chase that went through Washoe County, Douglas County, and ended in South Lake Tahoe.

Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) called South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) to alert them just before 7:30 p.m. on December 8 that they were inbound into the city limits in pursuit of a stolen vehicle, a 1999 Expedition. SLTPD went to Stateline to put out spike strips on the highway but missed the car that was going at a reported 90 mph.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has closed State Route 89/Monitor Pass between Route 4 in Alpine County and U.S. 395 in Mono
County for the winter season.

Monitor Pass has been closed since November 28 due to snow, but on Thursday Caltrans extended the closure through the winter season.

Route-4/Ebbetts Pass, Route-108/Sonora Pass, and Route 120/Tioga Pass also are closed for the winter season.

The recent storms, and accumulation of snow, make the seasonal closures necessary for the safety of motorists and Caltrans crews.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - When the State of California awarded the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) $9,576,000 in 2020 to help with their goal of ending homelessness in South Lake Tahoe, it seemed like a great solution for the community. The funds were used to purchase the Red Lodge, El Nido Motel, and Bear's Den motels.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the Lake Tahoe Basin and Truckee from Friday evening to Sunday night.

Heavy snow is possible with total accumulations of 20 to 30 inches, except 2 to 4 feet above 7000 feet with up to 5 feet of snow on the crest possible. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph.

The heaviest snowfall rates are anticipated Saturday and Sunday. The combination of heavy snow and wind may bring periods of whiteout conditions.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Sandeep Kumar, 29, was arrested by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) on November 17. He is accused of stealing several hundred dollars from his employer.

According to SLTPD Sgt. Russell Liles, Kumar is a new resident of South Lake Tahoe and had worked for the business he allegedly stole from for only a couple of weeks. Upon arrest, it was discovered Kumar had outstanding warrants including one from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Nevada Humane Society recently assisted in a large-scale rescue effort of nearly 300 abused dogs and puppies in Nye County.

While many rescued dogs were taken to different parts of the country to rehabilitate or be adopted, many found their forever homes in our local region of Northern Nevada.

The dogs in question were Caucasian Shepherds, from a failed breeding facility that turned into a nightmare for the animals involved.

While there are many ethical breeding kennels operating in Nevada, the individuals who owned the hundreds of shepherds were not among them.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In November 2021, a South Lake Tahoe jury of six men, and six women found Tevarez Richard Lopez guilty of murdering Dennis "Spike" Wright, Jr. at the Beverly Lodge in South Lake Tahoe on January 30, 2016.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team (TFFT) will resume prescribed fire operations this week in the Lake Tahoe Basin, conditions and weather permitting. California State Parks, California Tahoe Conservancy, Nevada Division of Forestry, North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, and the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will be burning piles in numerous locations. Smoke will be present.

1. Kingsbury Piles - 15 acres, Planned Ignition: 12/05/22
2. Van Sickle Park Piles - 20 acres, Planned Ignition: 11/28/2022

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Winter has arrived in the Lake Tahoe Basin along with the holiday season. Local fire districts and their partners would like to take this opportunity to remind residents and visitors to celebrate safely.

Decorating for the holidays is a tradition in homes all over the world but be sure to decorate safely. According to the National Fire Protection Association, almost one-third of home Christmas tree fires are caused by electrical problems and more than two of every five decoration fires happen because decorations are placed too close to a heat source.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Registrar of Voters of El Dorado County, Bill O'Neill, has certified the 2022 election. As a county, 89,823 voters of the 138,537 registered voters turned out, or 64.84 percent. In South Lake Tahoe, 45.55 percent of the registered voters turned in ballots.

The final results for the South Shore:

El Dorado County Supervisor District V - 14,347 / 26,635 53.75% of registered voters
BROOKE LAINE - 7,346 58.32%
KENNY CURTZWILER - 5,180 41.13%
WRITE IN - 69 0.55%
Vote for neither - 1,752

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Interstate 80 crossing the Sierra Nevada is closed at this hour after visibility concerns rose with high winds and blowing snow.

Shortly before closing, CalTrans urged drivers to not travel on I-80 in the Sierra today unless they absolutely must. No ETO on reopening.

Chain controls on US50 start at Pollock Pines from the west, and Clear Creek River above Carson City from the east.

Watch conditions on SR88 as CalTrans will be doing avalanche control through the duration of the storm.

For up-to-the-minute reports on Nevada and California roads:

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - For ten years the Tahoe Douglas and Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authorities have been working on getting a special events center built on the South Shore. During those same ten years, Matt Levitt worked on creating a local vodka company with one employee and 400 cases produced a year to this year's 65,000 cases of vodka sold.

Now the two efforts have combined and Tahoe Blue Vodka was given the naming rights to the new event center in a multi-year deal.

Caltrans is alerting motorists of successive winter storms expected by the National Weather Service (NWS) that will impact travel in the Sacramento Valley and the Sierra Nevada starting Wednesday night.

Rain and strong winds will move into the Sacramento Valley beginning Wednesday night into Thursday, making travel challenging. A total of 3 to 4 inches of rain is expected for the Sacramento Valley between Wednesday night and Sunday night. Winds will be gusting up to 30 mph.

A Sacramento attorney and filer of thousands of disability discrimination lawsuits pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return on which he underreported the income he earned from many of those lawsuits.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A quick-moving storm has prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno to issue a Winter Storm Watch for the Greater Lake Tahoe Basin for Wednesday night at 10 p.m. through Friday morning at 10 a.m.

Heavy snow is possible. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 10 inches at lake level, 10 to 16 inches possible above that, and 14 to 26 inches above 7000 feet possible, highest along the Sierra crest. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph in valley locations with gusts above 100 mph along the Sierra crest.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - After a quiet holiday weekend, a few storms are on track to bring back colder temperatures, periods of windy conditions, and the
potential for snow in the Sierra and western Nevada in the week ahead.

To start things off, there is a Lake Wind Advisory for Monday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Winds will be from the southwest 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph expected. Waves are expected of 2 to 4 feet. mall boats, kayaks, and paddle boards will be prone to capsizing and should remain off lake waters until conditions improve.

Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) has posted a notice of intent to adopt the 2022 Fire Code Ordinance.

LVFPD will hold its first public hearing at 5 p.m. on Thursday, December 8 at it Station 7 at 2211 Keetak Street, Meyers.

The hearing is being held regarding the adoption of the 2022 Fire Code Ordinance pursuant to Health and Safety Code Sections 13869 and 13869.7. Copies of the code section referred to and any secondary code sections referred to, adopted by reference, are on file with the Secretary of the District and are open to public inspection.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 34-year-old man allegedly stole a car outside of the area, then brought it to Lake Tahoe only to get stuck in the snow. He then called 9-1-1 on himself.

Angelo Valdez brought the vehicle to the South Shore and ended up on Nicoleno Road in the Spring Creek Tract. At approximately 9 a.m. on Friday, November 18, he called emergency dispatch. Due to the suspicious nature of the call, deputies from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responded. Upon arrival, they found Valdez seated in the vehicle and would not get out.

The safety of everyone traveling is the focus of a grant awarded to the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) with efforts to reduce deaths and injuries on South Lake Tahoe roads and to improve traffic analysis, reporting, and data collection.

SLTPD sought out the grant to combat recognized traffic issues within the city, including DUI, bicycle, pedestrian, and motorcycle enforcement.

The one-year grant is for the 2023 federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023.

The grant will fund a variety of traffic safety programs, including:

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), and Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) in leading a bipartisan letter to the United States Forest Service (USFS) regarding the lack of forest management and fire preparedness efforts made in Grizzly Flats, the California town that was destroyed by the Caldor Fire in August 2021.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The young faces of the families of highway workers are reminding you to move over a lane or slow down for their loved ones who help keep our roads safe. The “Kids of Caltrans” provide the personal, impactful messages behind the new public awareness campaign from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in partnership with the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP), that kicked off today at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center.