conditions

“The weather will continue to change on and off for a long, long time," said the late comedian George Carlin.

Expect a week of changes.

The week ahead in Lake Tahoe will seem a wide spectrum in weather from sunny and near 70 to high winds and a chance of snow.

Have you heard, or seen, military helicopters around South Lake Tahoe the last few days? The U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is conducting training using the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft at the Lake Tahoe Airport from October 11 until at least October 18.

At first, their plans were to station 12 aircraft at the airport until October 30, so final training plans may have changed. They will also be using a meeting room and hangar at the airport for training purposes.

Before that question can be answered, we need to understand what a mega fire is. To be a mega fire it needs to meet these five points:

1. Starts near or in a high fire danger area during approaching or actual red flag conditions,
2. Escapes the initial attack,
3. Develops into a campaign fire covering a large area,
4. Requires thousand of firefighters and extensive additional resources to bring final containment,
5. Often cause huge property and other cultural losses in addition to vegetation destroyed.

Overnight fire conditions were very active on several fronts forcing additional
evacuations across Northern California. Firefighters are battling 22 large
wildfires that have burned nearly 170,000 acres. Firefighters are bracing for
the winds to shift this evening and increase in speed. 17 people are confirmed
to have died in the wildfires this week. 11 people alone died in the Tubbs Fire,
making it the 6th deadliest fire in our state’s history.
While damage assessment continues on all the fires, it is estimated that at

Herbert Avenue in South Lake Tahoe may be revamped due to the new business development on Highway 50 and Ski Run Boulevard and the existing businesses at Herbert Avenue and Highway 50. To involve the community and get their opinion, the City of South Lake Tahoe is holding a public meeting at the Senior Center on Wednesday, October 25 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The "Herbert Avenue Circulation Study" is looking at possible alternatives to the current configuration.

The evening will include a presentation by LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc. and community discussion.

The following is a letter received concerning the Sass Talk published on October 7:

I hate to waste my time, but I cannot let the erroneous propaganda put out by the Emperor of City Hall go unrebutted. The City will not let go of this “nuisance” problem as it diverts focus on the dismal road conditions that the City has neglected for years. Also, City management has totally failed to provide a reliable snow removal system as we experienced last winter.

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a Lake Wind Advisory for Lake Tahoe, which is in effect until noon today. Winds: East to northeast 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph this morning. Expect waves from two-four feet from mid-lake to western shores. Small boats, kayaks and paddle boards will be prone to capsizing and should remain off lake waters until conditions improve.

It will remain windy until mid-week.

California State Parks will kick off the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) fall prescribed fire program next week, beginning October 10, 2017. If conditions are favorable, prescribed fire operations will take place in D.L. Bliss State Park on the southwest end of Lake Tahoe. Smoke may be visible and is expected to last through the week. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.

View the map with project locations and details at http://www.tahoefft.org.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Eight hours, and testimony from 29 people later, the City Council has crafted a new ordinance that attempts to strike a balance between locals and vacation home rentals (VHRs).

"While tourism is the lifeblood in our town, the residents are the heart and soul," said SLT City Councilman Jason Collin.

Passionate testimony from all sides was presented at Tuesday's meeting as has been the case for the 20+ meetings on the subject of VHRs.

The direction from the City Council to staff is to create an ordinance that will contain the following:

Gone are the forecast highs of 70s, in their place are increasing winds with a high of 69 on Friday to highs in the 50s through the workweek.

A weak cold front will bring increased high clouds Friday followed by dry conditions and near average temperatures for the weekend. Colder weather is expected for the first half of next week with occasional breezy conditions and a slight chance of showers, as a potent cold front and a series of low pressure systems move through the region.

The forecast for South Lake Tahoe from the National Weather Service in Reno:

Clear skies and light winds are expected through the coming week as a ridge of high pressure along the west coast gradually strengthens, leading a slow warming trend.

Aside from some freezing fog near Truckee and the Sierra Valley, benign conditions remain on tap for the near future as that high pressures continues to build. According to some modules, there is the potential for cooler and wetter weather toward the end of the first week of October, but in the meantime its dry with above normal temperatures by the weekend.

Here is the forecast from the National Weather Service in Reno:

The use of life jackets saves lives, especially on Lake Tahoe where Cold Water Shock can kill a person in minutes.

It has been a deadly year on the lake, and the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) department has started a new program to help save lives in the future.

California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) has partnered with SLTFR in making life jackets available to the public on a loan basis. They have infant, child and adult sizes.

Seasonable temperatures and dry conditions will prevail this weekend, but change is in the air. A series of cold fronts will produce gusty winds on Monday and Wednesday followed by below average temperatures for much of next week and chances for isolated showers. Light snow is possible in higher elevations, while low temperatures may dip to near freezing in some lower valleys. In South Lake Tahoe, Wednesday morning lows are expected to be below freezing - are you ready?

There is the forecast from the National Weather Service in Reno:

The Final Draft of the Meyers Area Plan was released today along with the associated joint environmental document. This draft updates 20-year old policies to streamline permitting for small projects, improves consistency between El Dorado County and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) policies and standards, promotes recreation and bicycle/pedestrian improvements, establishes zoning to better reflect current conditions, conserves land around the Upper Truckee River, formalizes a local citizens advisory council, and integrates design standards and guidelines.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and South Tahoe Now will be running a series of stories on suicide prevention.

“For anyone who has lost a friend or loved one to suicide, this month can be especially hard,” said Laura Walny, manager with the El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA). “We hope that by supporting one another and working together to raise awareness about suicide, we can ultimately save lives.”

UPDATE 9/3 9:00pm - 9,051 acres have now burned in the Slinkard Fire near Topaz Lake. It remains at 20 percent contained.

* * *
UPDATE 9/2 2:45PM - The Slinkard Fire is burning in three counties and two states: Mono, Alpine and Douglas County in California and Nevada. It has consumed 7,881 acres since starting by lightning on August 29. Firefighters now have a containment line around 20 percent of the fire. It is located in Slinkard Valley, and on the west slope of Antelope Valley, west of Topaz Lake and eight miles north of Walker, Calif.

The following is a list of the Caltrans projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin for the week.

EMERGENCY PROJECT

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): The highway is reduced to one lane in each direction at Bridal Veil Falls for slope and roadway repair work. Completion is expected by the end of the year.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

8/20 update: The fire grew minimally yesterday as thunderstorms skirted the perimeter. 3,191 acres have now burned and the fire is at 10 percent contained. Mandatory evacuations will remain in place in Wawona for the area east of Highway 41 on Forest Dr. and Chilnualna Falls Rd.

Caltrans is alerting motorists traveling through the Truckee area that the on ramp from southbound Highway 89 to eastbound Interstate 80, as well as the off ramp from Interstate 80 to Central Truckee, will be closed from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 15 and Wednesday, August 16 for maintenance work.

The ramps sustained damage during the past winter’s storms. Preventing further erosion of the ramp’s pavement and shoulders will help mitigate damage anticipated from future winter storms.

The Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) is becoming concerned with traffic issues around Sand Harbor on State Route 28 near Incline Village, especially early mornings on Saturdays and Sundays.

Drivers parking and those stopping in the middle of the road trying to park are creating backups and dangerous situations before the popular beach even opens.
On many weekend mornings the traffic is backed up all the way into Incline Village, causing major delays, and this is when there is no road construction.

With tree mortality issues so prevalent in the Sierra, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors today launched a Tree Removal Grant Program for low-income seniors.

“The tree mortality issues in our county remain very serious. We’re just happy to have this program available to assist private homeowners, especially our seniors with limited income, who have no other means to remove dead or dying trees from threatening damage to their homes,” said District IV Supervisor, Michael Ranalli.

Dmitri Pajitnov (Dima), a member of the Heavenly Mountain Resort Ski Patrol team, has been missing since July 3, 2017 when he fell through a snow bridge on Washington's Mt. Rainier near Pebble Creek as he skied down the mountain.

His body has not been found and friends are heading back to the area this weekend for what they are calling a recovery mission.

Dmitri's ski partner observed the fall and searched for two hours using an avalanche probe and transceiver before descending to Paradise and reporting the incident according to a report from the National Park Service.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - An ongoing legal battle between the Tahoe Keys Marina and the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association (TKPOA) has resulted in the water being shut off to all buildings at the marina.

Since the Fresh Ketch restaurant and adjacent deli are in one of those buildings, the El Dorado County Health Department shut them down due to a lack of water. A notice was also put up on the apartments in the complex advising residents of unsafe living conditions since there was no running water.

With recent water tragedies in Lake Tahoe we are republishing this 2016 article.

The most common misunderstanding about swimming in Lake Tahoe is that people can suffer from hypothermia, which leads to death. The real truth is that "cold water shock" will kill much quicker than hypothermia ever will.

"The sudden lowering of skin temperature on immersion in cold water represents one of the most profound stimuli that the body can encounter." Golden and Tipton in Essentials of Sea Survival