Wind gusts snap trees through South Lake Tahoe area

Gusty winds whipped through South Lake Tahoe Thursday afternoon, snapping trees into cars, homes and power lines. No injuries were reported.
The driver of a Subaru escaped injury after a tree slammed into her car as she was driving on Highway 50 near Sawmill Road at about 3 p.m.
The driver told authorities that she saw a large tree begin to fall but could not veer from the wesbound lane to the eastbound lane or else she would hit oncoming traffic. Damage to her car included a shattered windshield and smashed hood.

Had she not have seen the tree buckle ahead of it falling things could have been a lot worse, said El Dorado County Sheriff's Deputy Damian Frisby. It was the front top of the tree that hit the car and she was within inches of missing the large part of the tree trunk, he added.
Further down Sawmill, traffic was turned around as a fallen tree covered the entire width of the road. A tree service was called to clear the street. Wunderground.com reported a high wind gust of 46 mph during the height of the passing front, which was from about 2:30 to 4 p.m.
South Lake Tahoe Fire and Lake Valley Fire Protection District responded to several calls, including one on Divot Court near the Lake Tahoe Golf Course where a large tree limb snapped and fell onto two parked vehicles.
When the ground is saturated there's a lot more potential for trees to uproot or buckle from these high winds, said Leona Allen, public information officer for the district.
"It's good to be aware of your surroundings when you're in weather like this. Trees can easily snap and fall into homes, power lines and can start fires," she said.