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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As ski resorts around Lake Tahoe are experiencing the record December snowfall and large crowds, Sierra-at-Tahoe sits on the sidelines waiting its turn.

The Caldor Fire destroyed key parts of the popular resort when the fire took over the mountain west of Lake Tahoe on August 29 and 30, 2021. After the fire passed and headed to Meyers and South Lake Tahoe, initial assessments were minor damage to the resort, but as the smoke cleared the true devastation was obvious.

The past four months are not soon to be forgotten. After having seen the city roads come to a standstill during the Caldor fire evacuation, our city responded to a very predictable overload of cars due to the I-80 closure and Highway 50 reopening by doing exactly what?

Are we to continue to understand that the City of South Lake Tahoe has no control of the roads through our City and no means of contacting those who do have control of our roads when the town is overrun?



On the first day of January each year a slew of new laws take effect, many of which people will never hear of unless directly impacted. In California, the second-fewest number of legislative bills were passed, second only to the previous year due to COVID-19.

Vail Resorts announced Friday it has closed on the acquisition of Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley Resort, and Laurel Mountain Ski Area in Pennsylvania. The Company purchased the resorts, including the ski areas, a hotel, conference center, and other related operations, from Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Inc. and its affiliates for a final purchase price of approximately $118 million, including customary closing purchase price adjustments.

Vail Resorts now has a network of 40 resorts worldwide.

Not only was 2021 a chaotic year in South Lake Tahoe for a number of reasons, but we also experienced a record number of bear/human conflict issues. I've heard a number of people opine that this was due to the Caldor Fire, but that is not only an over-simplistic view. The fire actually had little effect on the activities of our local "urbanized" black bear population other than giving them free reign in neighborhoods around town, and in some of those areas for up to three weeks, during the Caldor Fire evacuation.

TAHOE CITY, Calif. - The Placer County Sheriff’s Office has suspended emergency rescue operations at Northstar Ski Resort for missing skier Rory Angelotta. They determined there is no realistic possibility Rory has survived the severe winter conditions since he went missing on Christmas Day at the resort.

A scaled response is still planned for recovery operations at the resort.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The end of 2021 will be much quieter weather-wise in the Lake Tahoe Basin after the recent crushing series of winter storms.

If bringing in the new year outdoors, you'll find the coldest air in nearly five years, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno. Expect frigid temperatures Saturday and Sunday mornings. Forecast lows are in the single digits to mid-teens for much of western Nevada and below zero in colder Sierra communities.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Suntex Marinas Investor, LLC has completed a purchase of the Tahoe Keys Marina in South Lake Tahoe. The Dallas, Texas-based company owns and operates marina properties across the country with three others in California - Lake Don Pedro Marina in LaGrange, Moccasin Point Marina in Jamestown, and Pleasure Cove Marina in Napa.

Suntex announced the sale on Christmas Eve.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - After the strong December storms, the snow survey conducted Thursday near Sierra-at-Tahoe measured 78.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 20 inches, which is 202 percent of average for this date.

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) today conducted the first snow survey of the season at Phillips Station, west of South Lake Tahoe.

Early winter storms this month provided a strong start to the season and some drought relief, but California remains in a drought.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - There have been 72 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths recorded since yesterday in El Dorado County. This brings the total of COVID-19 cases in the county to 17,495. The wrapup of all other counties around the lake takes place on Fridays.

There is an issue today with the new interactive dashboard for the county and extra details are not showing. See HERE.

Pollock Pines, Camino, Kyburz - 1007 cases - +2
El Dorado Hills - 3773 cases - +24

CAVE ROCK, Nev. - Ryan Curry hiked up to the top of Cave Rock during the Lake Tahoe traffic jam on Tuesday night and took this photo at 7:30 p.m. He wanted to show his business partner, Russ Irwin, just how the traffic looked. Irwin had been unable to get back to Lake Tahoe due to the traffic on US-50 and SR-207.

The blue-lighted tree seen in the photo is on US50 at the turn up into Cave Rock Estates. Heavenly Valley and Gun Barrel Run are in the distant background of the photo.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Even though the roads are open, there are still chain restrictions and several resulting issues along the highway.

In South Lake Tahoe, a delivery truck is blocking the eastbound lanes Wednesday morning but a tow truck is on the scene and removing it from the berm on US-50.

Use caution while drive and watch for vehicles stuck in the snow.

US-50 to the west has had some stuck vehicles, so know before you go by visiting http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ for California and https://nvroads.com/ for Nevada roads.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The promised next storm moved in overnight and is forecast to continue through at least Wednesday afternoon. The Winter Weather Advisory is in place until 10:00 p.m.

Road controls as of 9:00 a.m. 12/29:

US50
Chains Required, All Vehicles Except 4-Wheel Drive with Snow Tires - on US-50 from mile post 17.7 in El Dorado County to mile post 52.5 in El Dorado County in California.

Chains Required, All Vehicles Except 4-Wheel Drive with Snow Tires - on US-50 from mile post 52.1 in El Dorado County to mile post 70.6 in El Dorado County in California.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - CalTrans has opened I-80 to both westbound and eastbound traffic that are essential commercial trucks and passenger vehicles only from Colfax to the Nevada state line.

Permit loads & non-essential commercial trucks are NOT permitted to use the interstate at this time.

US-50 opened overnight to both directions, resulting in massive traffic jams the whole length from Placerville to Nevada.

Always keep up on road conditions by visiting http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ for California roads and https://nvroads.com/ for Nevada roads.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - There have been 72 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths recorded since yesterday in El Dorado County. This brings the total of COVID-19 cases in the county to 17,495. The wrapup of all other counties around the lake takes place on Fridays.

There is an issue today with the new interactive dashboard for the county and extra details are not showing. See HERE.

Pollock Pines, Camino, Kyburz - 1005 cases - +3
El Dorado Hills - 3749 cases - +17

CalTrans has reopened eastbound I-80 to passenger vehicles and essential commercial vehicles only. No estimated time of reopening westbound lanes or allowing other vehicles.

R2 chain controls are in effect from Alta to the Nevada state line.

The highway has been closed for days along with other mountain highways. When US-50 opened late Monday, stranded motorists hit the road. After a jackknifed truck and multiple vehicles slid into the snowbank, it closed again Tuesday morning.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - If you plan on passing through South Lake Tahoe as a means to get over US-50, be prepared for not only long waits but possibly no gasoline at local stations.

With I-80 still closed, US-50 is the only major route open over the Sierra to get trucks and vehicles between the Sacramento valley and Reno/Carson area.

At 11:00 a.m., a quick overview of the situation on supplies:

Safeway in South Lake Tahoe has no gas, but shelves are still pretty stocked. No delivery trucks have been able to get to the store.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - First the good news: A Winter Storm Warning has been canceled for the Lake Tahoe Basin. The bad news? A Winter Weather Advisory took its place. Not too bad of news since the new storm isn't as strong as previously predicted.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno said the warning will start at 10:00 p.m. Tuesday after a brief break in the snowfall through Tuesday afternoon. 1-4 inches of snow is possible for communities around Lake Tahoe and the Carson Range. 4-8 inches along the Sierra crest.

The warning will be in place until 10:00 p.m. Wednesday.

9:00AM UPDATE 12/28: The road has closed again due to a jackknifed truck and accident. Cars are also sliding. Follow http://southtahoenow.com/story/12/28/2021/us-50-closed-again-due-accident-and-jackknifed-truck for updates, or the CalTrans quickmaps.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Crews have been able to tackle all of the snow on US-50 over Echo Summit and it has reopened. All westbound and eastbound lanes are open from Meyers to Placerville.

Chains are required on all vehicles except for four-wheel-drive with snow tires on all four wheels.

I-80 remains closed at this hour.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - West Coast cities took the top four spots of the most in-demand places of the year according to Zillow, the leading real estate marketplace in the country. Most of those spots belong to South Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There has been a lot of snow around Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada this week, but official records on whether this storm is record-breaking for South Lake Tahoe are non-existent.

The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (CSSL) located just southwest of Boreal Ridge off of I-80 is at the 6,894-foot level and has been keeping current records since 1970. It is a research and teaching facility of the University of California, Berkeley under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Schwartz, the station manager and lead scientist at the lab.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There is currently too much snow to allow Lake Tahoe resorts to open today due to closed roads leading to the ski areas and hazardous conditions.

The Sierra Avalanche Center said due to another round of heavy snowfall last night and early this morning combined with gale-force winds and intense blowing and drifting snow, dangerous avalanche conditions continue in the backcountry. Large avalanches could run down into treed areas below. Traveling in, near, or below avalanche terrain is not recommended today.

As of 10:00 a.m. Monday:

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Due to extreme weather and road conditions, there will be no trash pickup Monday on their residential and commercial routes on the South Shore.

South Tahoe Refuse said they anticipate routes will resume Tuesday and are monitoring conditions.

Once able to move through neighborhoods again the refuse company will not go back and pick up missed homes but residents can drop off at their Ruth Avenue dump location.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With the Winter Storm Warning expiring at 1:00 a.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno has come out with a special weather statement. There are signs that we'll see some sunshine, but also a few days of single-digits.