first responders

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With the anticipated impact of coronavirus COVID-19 in the area, the Barton Foundation has created a COVID-19 Response Fund aimed at helping community members and healthcare workers affected by the outbreak. Barton Health will match donations up to $75,000 to build the fund and help provide relief for residents.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Barton Foundation provided more than $360,000 in funding during 2019, delivering a profound community impact made possible by philanthropy and donor generosity over the year. Medical equipment, new technology, care provider education, and support, expanding access to mental and behavioral health services, and funding for local organizations were all aspects of the Barton Foundation’s scope of giving last year, as part of its commitment to community well-being through Barton Health.

Members of Lake Tahoe Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) joined groups from across the country on Saturday, December 14 for a Wreaths Across America ceremony. This was the first time it was held in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation has announced a donation of $18,057 to the Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD) to enhance wildfire suppression capabilities on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. This donation will result in the expansion of strategic and tactical Wildfire Pre Attack plans covering the entire Lake Tahoe Basin. Pre Attack Plans help first responders by identifying critical infrastructure, vulnerable population groups, evacuation routes, water sources, Temporary Refuge Areas, and locations where forests have been thinned before a wildfire strikes.

Lake Tahoe Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, will conduct the first Wreaths Across America ceremony ever to be held in the South Lake Tahoe area. The ceremony which remembers and honors those who serve and have served in our armed forces - and those who serve as local first responders - will take place promptly at 9:00 AM, December 14, at Happy Homestead Cemetery (1261 Johnson Blvd.). The public is invited to attend.

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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Several different agencies will come together in South Lake Tahoe to train for a mass casualty incident on Wednesday, October 16, from 3:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

The public may see and hear things around South Tahoe High School and Barton Memorial Hospital during this training exercise that may appear serious due to the responding South Lake Tahoe Police Department, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, Cal Tahoe JPA, Barton Health, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Lake Tahoe Unified School District.

The death and destruction caused by terrorists at the World Trade Center and Pentagon 18 years ago remained close to people’s hearts and memories on Tuesday during a memorial event at Western Nevada College in Carson City.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The community and visitors are invited to join members of American Legion Post 795 and the American Legion Auxiliary at a commemorative ceremony to honor the victims and first responders of September 11, 2001.

Its been 18 years since a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda were conducted against the United States on that Tuesday morning in New York, Virginia an Pennsylvania, killing almost 3,000 people.

MEYERS, Calif. - Many people were without power for several hours overnight Sunday after a car driven by a suspected drunk driver collided with a power pole on North Upper Truckee Road just before midnight.

According to the California Highway Patrol, a 24-year-old woman from Yerington, Nevada was heading south on the road about 200 feet north of its intersection with US50 when she ran into a power pole.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - The extraordinary efforts of several Good Samaritans and deputies from the Washoe County Sheriff's Office helped save the life of a man near Thunderbird Beach at Lake Tahoe July 5.

At approximately 1:30 p.m., deputies aboard Marine 9 were informed of a drowning that had just occurred on the small beach just north of the historic lodge. As the boat arrived two minutes later, deputies observed Erin Dohlman of Des Moines, Iowa, administering CPR to a male adult laying on the beach.

The following is the third in a series of stories on being a community that is prepared for wildfire.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Fire knows no boundaries, no city, county, or state lines, so why should those fighting the fires be limited by an unseen line? Fire chiefs across the country manage their fire departments based on need and available staff, but what happens when their resources aren't enough to fight a fire in their own backyard?

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Over 200 members of the community gathered last week for a Community Wildfire Preparedness and Evacuation Planning meeting that featured ten panelists for an important discussion on what is on the minds of many.

The goal is to be a community that is wildfire ready, and the speakers went through the ways both they and the citizens of the South Shore can be prepared for wildfire, establish evacuation routes and what the emergency response will be.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Traffic is nothing new in South Lake Tahoe and Meyers, but Sunday traffic leaving Lake Tahoe has become worse once tech-savvy drivers learned how to navigate side roads. Residents cannot leave their homes for fear they won't be able to get back for hours, and drivers trying to make it back to Sacramento and the Bay Area get frustrated with standstill hours-long lines.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - During the storm that hit Lake Tahoe on Saturday, February 9, several drivers decided to ignore closure signs on the Mt. Rose Highway and proceed without complying to chain requirements on the open portions. These vehicles became stuck in the heavy snowfall or stopped due to zero visibility white-out conditions, leading rescuers into what they call "life-threatening conditions."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - We could see the coldest air of the season this next week after the storms leave the Lake Tahoe Basin on Tuesday, but in the meantime, it's snow, snow, snow.

MEYERS, Calif - A quick response by Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) kept a Tuesday afternoon fire from spreading in Meyers, just outside of South Lake Tahoe.

The calls into 911 first alerted first responders that a car had collided with a residence on Tomahawk Lane and Apache Avenue. Upon arrival they found a structure and vehicle fire.

At 3:18 p.m., LVFPD responded with engines, medic and battalion chiefs while South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue also sent an engine and crew.

A leak of chlorine gas at a Zephyr Cove business brought out the fire department the Quad County HazMat team and closed off Elks Point Road near Highway 50 for over three hours on Thursday afternoon.

At 3:00 p.m., first responders from the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District (Tahoe Fire) arrived at a research company on Elks Point Road after a call that chlorine gas had been released. Firefighters responded once it was determined that the gas was BCL3 (Boron trichloride), hazardous materials (HazMat) procedures began.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Authorities are concerned with the forecast of gusty winds and low humidity in the Lake Tahoe area on Sunday, prompting the issuance of both a Lake Wind Advisory and Fire Weather Watch for much of the day.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno has issued a Lake Wind Advisory for Lake Tahoe from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and a Fire Weather Watch from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There will be two public workshops hosted by Liberty Utilities, one on each the north and south shore, to provide information about the utility's new de-energization plan during emergencies.

Since July 2018, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requires utilities to develop a plan to shut off power only as a last resort and
for a good reason in order to protect public safety.

Liberty's workshops will be to share information and answer questions about their plans. The two opportunities for the workshop are as follows:

Monday, October 8 @ 10:00 a.m.

September 11, 2001 - It's been 17 years since America experienced a tragedy that will never be forgotten. 2,983 people, ages 3-to-79, died that day in New York, Virginia and Philadelphia. In 17 years, time has not lessened or dissolved the sense of loss that occurred that day.

To honor 9-11 in South Lake Tahoe, the American Legion held their annual ceremony Tuesday with first responders, veterans and the community present to remember a day that not only was a time of death and destruction, but also a day of courage, heroism and love.

El Dorado County Search and Rescue is hosting SAREX 2018 (Search and Rescue Exercise) over the September 7-9 weekend at locations around South Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe Community College is the base for the event which will bring in over 500 search and rescue volunteers and professionals from around California.

The weekend long exercise will include air, water, and off highway vehicle operations. The public can expect to see increased activity of emergency vehicles, including helicopters and the organizers do not want the public to be concerned.

First responders around the South Lake Tahoe area were kept busy over the weekend with collisions, a jet ski crash and a major incident involving a pedestrian and vehicle.

On Sunday, August 19 at 12:12 a.m., South Lake Tahoe fire and police departments responded to the intersection of Lake Tahoe Boulevard (Hwy 50) and Lakeview Avenue on the call of a pedestrian versus vehicle crash.

When looking back at the month of July, each day's high temperatures in South Lake Tahoe were above average except for one, which was equal to the high. Even though July was a warm month, no record highs were set.

After such a warm month, August is starting out much the same.

The Meeks Bay Fire Protection District is holding their 50th annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, July 7 and Sunday, July 8 from 8:00 a.m. to noon each day.

This is a hearty breakfast spread (pancakes, sausage, applesauce) that supports local California State Parks and the Meeks Bay Fire Protection District. T-shirts and raffle items available for purchase. Smokey the Bear will be there as well as fire prevention activities.

The pancake breakfast will take place at their fire house, located at 8041 Hwy 89 in Meeks Bay.