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2:00 p.m. update - Joe Zuiches, a 42 year-old resident of Olympic Valley and a member of the Squaw Valley professional ski patrol since 2012, was killed in a fatal incident at 8:35 a.m. Tuesday morning, prior to regularly scheduled operations, during avalanche control activities at the top of Gold Coast Ridge at Squaw Valley. The cause is believed to be the detonation of an explosive charge. An investigation is ongoing in cooperation with the Placer County Sheriff’s Office and North Tahoe Fire Department.

Due to narrow, unsafe, unnavigable bus routes in both the city and county, all Schools in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District will be closed today, Tuesday January 24, 2017.

Douglas County Schools are open, but those at the lake are on a main bus stop only schedule.

Tahoe Truckee Schools are open except for Donner Trail Elementary which is closed due to lack of power.

Incline Village schools are open.

Pollock Pines schools are on a snow day.

While the top women’s alpine ski racers in the world prepare to descend on Squaw Valley March 10-11 for the Audi FIS Women’s World Cup Giant Slalom and Slalom races, another group of seasoned competitors will also be setting their sights on the California resort with the addition of the Toyota ProAm Ski Challenge to the weekend’s festivities.

Although it’s been a busy season safeguarding Heavenly Mountain Resort skiers, last Monday, January 16, the Heavenly Ski Patrol also wanted to help the community off the mountain. By sponsoring a Bread & Broth Adopt A Day of Nourishment, the Ski Patrol funded a B&B’s Monday Meal which not only provided a hot, tasty meal but also a chance to enjoy a warm and safe place to spend time with others.

1:00 p.m. update - SR-89 is back open to traffic after the snow from an early morning avalanche was cleared off the road.

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State Route 89 remains closed Monday morning after an overnight avalanche between Alpine Meadows and Tahoe City caught two cars in its path.

Drivers in the cars were rescued in about 45 minutes and there were no injuries. Two of the occupants of the cars, Tahoe City area residents, posted a photo from inside their trapped car on social media.

The historic building that housed a liquor store and other businesses in South Lake Tahoe suffered significant damage after a heavy snow load contributed to the collapse of the building's roof early Monday morning.

South Tahoe Refuse will not be picking up residential trash in South Lake Tahoe Monday due to heavy snow making many streets impassible at this time.

Residents may go to South Tahoe Refuse and dispose of their garbage for free, or wait until next week's Monday pick up day.

They are attempting to get to their commercial customers.

Any questions can be directed to South Tahoe Refuse at (530) 541-5105.

More schools will be having a snow day on Monday. Zephyr Cove Elementary and Whittell High School just announced their closure. The other Douglas County Schools in the valley will be on a two-hour delayed start.

Up at Tahoe Truckee School District, they are watching snow and road conditions and will make their decision at 4:00 a.m. Monday morning.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District on the South Shore already announced their snow day for January 23.

Incline Village schools will also be closed and all other Washoe County schools are on a two-hour delays.

Native Nevadan Patricia Hicks McCulloch (Pat) died peacefully on Monday, January 9 after a long illness. She was preceded in death by her husband, William H. (Bill) McCulloch.

Pat was, as they say, a "force of nature". She was a dear family member to dozens and a dear friend to literally hundreds and she was never without a smile on her face.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county. The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at time of story.

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11:30 a.m. - Disobey Court Order - Twin Bridges - A CITIZEN REPORTED HIS 56-YEAR-OLD NEIGHBOR VIOLATED A CIVIL HARASSMENT RESTRAINING ORDER.

10:25 p.m. - Possession of Marijuana - Thunderbird Ct - DEPUTIES RESPONDED TO A VEHICLE D.O.T. REQUESTED TO BE REMOVED FOR A SNOW PLOW. DURING THE SNOW TOW,

South Lake Tahoe, Calif., - Tahoe Transportation District is suspending all transit services at noon on Sunday, January 22 due to current and expected weather, and road conditions.

All winter routes serving Heavenly Mountain Resort, routes 50, 53, 23, 20x, 19x and all on-demand response services will be suspended. This includes routes to, and around, the Carson Valley

It is unknown at this time when service will be resumed.

Due to the storm forecast to high the Lake Tahoe Basin, Sierra-at-Tahoe has decided to not open on Sunday.

They said they've checked multiple forecasts and spoke with the National Weather Service, and since both were advising people to not travel over the mountain roads they closed due to safety concerns.

"We believe that the best call for everyone's safety is to suspend operations for tomorrow," the ski resort said on social media. "Your safety is our primary concern."

"This is incredible," said Heddy Kaufer of South Lake Tahoe as she joined an estimated crowd of 500 men, women and children for the Bi-State Women's March on Washington Lake Tahoe.

Like millions of others who marched around the world on January 21, the festive South Lake Tahoe group walked a three mile route from the Hard Rock Lake Tahoe to the Senior Center in support of not only women's rights, but all human rights.

As the long line of walkers were greeted by honks from cars, they chanted "Love, Not Hate, Makes America Great!"

Snow Days. Kids love 'em, parents maybe not so much.

Last week's five snow days, and a lack of one this week caused some parents to raise concern with how the Lake Tahoe Unified School (LTUSD) decides when to close school for the day.

Closing school is always a tough call for school superintendents across the country, so what is the science behind closing schools when it snows in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District?

8:25 p.m. update - Traffic is starting to move over Echo Summit.

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8:00 p.m. update - Highway 50 from Meyers to Sly Park remains closed at this hour due to avalanche control. There have also been several spin-outs and other weather related issues according to and earlier Caltrans report.

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Traffic has been backed up for hours on Highway 50 as people head to South Lake Tahoe for a weekend of fresh powder. Snow, snow covered roads and chain controls have made travel slow and now the road is closed between Meyers and Pollock Pines for avalanche control.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - There are basic rules when behind the wheel, not only in fair weather, but also in stormy and snowy weather as South Lake Tahoe has been experiencing.

Here are tips for driving in snow from the American Automobile Association (AAA):
- Accelerate and decelerate slowly
- Drive slowly
- The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to ten seconds
- Know your brakes
- Don't stop if you can avoid it
- Don't power up hills. ...
- Don't stop going up a hill
- Stay home

A suspect was arrested two days after the Douglas County Sheriff's Office circulated the photo of a person of interest in an attempted residential burglary in Gardnerville.

On January 19 at 3:00 p.m., Joshua Gutierrez, 25, of Gardnerville was arrested at his place of business in Douglas County. During the arrest, a box of collectibles, coins and currency that didn't belong to the suspect was located in Gutierrez's vehicle.

If you have been the victim of a theft with the loss of those types of items, contact the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division at (775)782-9080.

Here is an update on all Lake Tahoe area schools for Friday, January 20:

Lake Tahoe Unified School District schools are open.

Tahoe Truckee School District schools are closed for a snow day.

Douglas County schools at the lake are closed.

Incline Village schools are on a two-hour delay.

No word from LTCC.

Not all changes to the City of South Lake Tahoe's master fee schedule results in higher fees for residents and business owners.

During Tuesday' City Council meeting, Kevin Fabino, Director of the Development Services Department, presented the new Fire/Life Safety Inspection Program, something all South Lake Tahoe businesses must participate in annually for the safety of their customers and staff. The SLT Fire Department conducted the inspections until 2011, but they were suspended due to staffing shortages until 2015 when a fire inspector was hired for Fabino's department.

Long time South Lake Tahoe locals have been heard in town saying, "This is just like winter used to be." Without many serious snowstorms in the past several years, forecasts of 2-3' feet are catching many by surprise as they find themselves unprepared.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is reaching out to residents with advice to stay safe, how to be prepared, how to handle berms, and updates on the City's preparations.

Friday-Saturday, January 20-21

Twenty-five years ago, I finished my graduate work in Oregon and moved to Northern Nevada for a planning position at TRPA. Having spent a large part of my youth hiking and camping at Tahoe and in the Sierra, the move felt like coming home.

Tahoe Rim Trail Geology Talk Have you ever wondered how Lake Tahoe was formed, why there are so many alpine lakes around here, or what all those strange rock formations are? Dave Schnake, a Tahoe Rim Trail Association Board Member and Crew Leader, and trained geologist and geochemist, will give us the low down on Tahoe geology, answer all your hard questions, and maybe even tell you about those strange rocks. This informative presentation is free and open to all. Get there early, seats are limited.

Location

The anticipated list is out! Tahoe Arts Project (TAP) has announced the participants in the 5th annual Dancing with the Tahoe Stars which will be held on Saturday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m. in MontBleu's showroom.

The stars and pros for this special evening:
Betsy Belotti and Rainer Herm
Marimille Dacia and Gerzon Chaves
Alison Ganong and Bob Truesdale
Brooke Hernandez and Alex Kaskie
Cindy Martinez and Rex Kline
Jeff Cowen and Rhonda Keen
John Freidrich and Jodi Patton
Matt Levitt and Robyn Lindner
Chuck Malone and Angela Smith
Austin Sass and Catherine Arens

The second concert heading to the South Shore for the Harvey's Outdoor Concert series has been announced.

As part of their "Play That Song Tour," Train, O.A.R. and Natasha Bedingfield will stop by Lake Tahoe on Sunday, July 9, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets will range from $49.50 to $99.50. They are not yet on sale, but when they do they'll be available on ticketmaster.com.

Each summer, top names in the music field head to South Lake Tahoe for the summer outdoor series held behind Harvey's in an amphitheater. More names will be announced in the coming weeks.