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Small smoke plumes have been observed in communities as far west as Cool and Auburn as a result of the smoldering King Fire. According to Cal Fire, this is to be expected as the fire continues to burn within the interior. Smoke will settle with the cooler night air and follow canyons and drainages, and will lift and disperse as the day warms. It should be somewhat light smoke, and get progressively lighter over time until the fire runs its course or enough precipitation extinguishes it.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will lift fire restrictions on National Forest System lands beginning Friday, October 3, 2014.

“Although fire restrictions will be lifted on Friday, remember campfires are never allowed in the Desolation Wilderness,” said Forest Service fire management officer Kit Bailey.

The Forest Service announced today that they are re-opening some popular recreation areas near the King Fire area. The Rubicon Jeep Trail, Wrights Lake, Desolation Wilderness and the east side of Ice House Road are now open to the public.

“Although fire crews have nearly contained the King Fire, it is still active, and there are a lot of firefighting resources still in the area,” said Laurence Crabtree, the USFS Forest Supervisor. “I intend to open more of the Forest to the public as soon as it is safe to do so.”

9/29/14 8 p.m. update - The King Fire is now 92% contained and has remained at 97.099 acres burned. More personnel has been released and there are now 3,401 remaining on the fire.

Mop up and patrol continued. Continued the demobilization of excess resources. Continued to backhaul excess equipment and trash. Fire suppression repair is ongoing. Homes and damaged buildings on White Meadows Road are being evaluated for future damage from possible mud and debris flows caused by the last two days of rain. Some homes and buildings are being prepared with sand bags by crews.

9/29/14 update: Heavy precipitation over the weekend allowed firefighters to achieve 90 percent containment of the Cascade Fire near Snow Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. Crews will begin repairing impacts from fire suppression activities and will monitor the fire to detect any renewed activity later this week due to drier, warmer and windier conditions.

Bayview Trailhead and Campground and TaylorCreek Sno-Park on Hwy. 89 have reopened. The cause of the 20-acre fire is under investigation, but it has been determined to be human-caused.

Wayne Allen Huntsman, the accused King Fire arsonist, is sitting in the El Dorado County Jail in South Lake Tahoe awaiting his next court date on October 28, 2014.

Huntsman was arrested on September 17 on felony charges of Arson on Forest land with a Special Allegation of Arson with Aggravating Factors. He was arraigned in Superior Court in Placerville on Friday and transferred to the county jail in South Lake Tahoe. His bail was set at $10,000,000.

The TRPA, U.S. Forest Service and the California Public Utilities Commission have released a final environmental impact report on the proposed electrical system upgrade in North Lake Tahoe by Liberty Utilities.

The proposed 625 and 650 Electrical Line Upgrade Project would consist primarily of an upgrade of Liberty Energy's existing 625 and 650 electrical power lines and associated substations from 60 kilovolt to 120 kV, to allow the entire North Lake Tahoe Transmission System to operate at 120 kV.

Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37. was arrested Wednesday on felony charges of Arson on Forest land with a Special Allegation of Arson with Aggravating Factors. Law enforcement officials held a press conference Thursday at the Cal Fire base in Camino, announcing the arrest.

Huntsman is being held in lieu of $10 million bail.

Arraignment is scheduled for Friday, September 19, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. in Department 7 of the El Dorado County Superior Court in Placerville.

Heavenly Mountain Resort's proposed Epic Discovery Project will be featured at an open house hosted by the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday, September 18.

The resort wants to expand year-round activities to include zipline and skycycle canopy tours, a mountain bike park, a ropes course, water activities, hiking trails, mountain excursion tours and nature interpretation. Heavenly is also proposing to create a snowcat emergency evacuation route for the gondola line.

The Lake Valley Fire Department was given a $26,000 grant to clear brush and hazard trees from a 6.5 acre parcel in Meyers. The grant was given by the Forest Service to help reduce the risk of wildfire in Meyers.

The parcel is owned by the California Tahoe Conservancy across from the Tahoe Pine Campground.

Many thought the smoke filling the Lake Tahoe basin on Tuesday was from Yosemite's Meadow Fire, but because of the way winds were flowing the basin smoke was actually from the Happy Fire in Northern California.

As of 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, the Happy Fire had burned over 105,000 acres and is 30% contained. The lightning caused fire started on August 12 and is burning west of Yreka and I-5 along Hwy 96 in the Klamath National Forest.

9/8/14 6:45 p.m. update: The Meadow Fire in Yosemite grew considerably overnight and has burned about 2,582 acres so far. What started as a small fire after lightning on August 16 got out of control on Sunday.

According to Yosemite's website, it is burning within the Little Yosemite Valley on both sides of the Merced River. All trails in the area are closed. Earlier Monday, approximately 100 hikers and backpackers were evacuated from the fire area in LYV. The fire is burning in Yosemite Wilderness.

Quagga mussels have been getting all the press lately but today it was the river mussel's turn for notoriety.

Native to the western U.S., the river mussel is now a protected species due to their population being threatened by dams, habitat modification due to the disappearance of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout from the Upper Truckee and other river habitat changing occurrences.

Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation is now accepting applications for its fall grant cycle. Applications are available online on the organization’s website www.ltedf.org and are due Sept. 26, 2014.

5:35 p.m. update: Fire crews are getting a hand on a brush fire that was burning on the valley side of Kingsbury Grade. Hwy 207 is still closed at the top.

Two heavy air tankers, one single engine air tanker and one helicopter responded as well as multiple fire agencies. Containment is expected soon on the fire.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, fire numbers were near six acres and they have reevaluated it to be 1.5 acres. There is no threat to homes or structures at this time.

The Bijou Community Playground represents a community effort and shows what we can do when we all come together and each do a little. "Many hands make for light work" is a true phenomenon here at Bijou School. Since 2007, with the inception of the Two Way Immersion program, and our forced volunteering program, the parents, staff and community members have consistently been spending time, funds, and those blood, sweat and tears we always talk about at this school. The new playground, as well as the field and park behind it, is a tangible representation of the volunteer force here at Bijou.

Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day is the largest volunteer restoration event in the Lake Tahoe basin. Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are invited to restore trails, stabilize stream banks and plant native plants. Last year 82 volunteers from various organizations participated to help restore Tahoe Paradise Park in Meyers, CA.

This year, volunteers are invited to help restore the watershed habitats that lead to Lake Tahoe.

The stewardship project starts at Tahoe Paradise Park in Meyers at 8 a.m.

Location

The Camp Richardson Corral operates under a U.S. Forest Service Special Use Permit that is up for renewal. As part of the process, the USFS has opened a month long period for comments from the public.

They are asking for input on a proposal to reissue the corral a 20 year special use permit for the operation and maintenance of the corral and outfitting and guiding services.

Today Kristen Spees announced the start of her congressional campaign’s I-80 District Tour throughout Northern Nevada.

Spees’ I-80 District Tour starting August 17th will be making stops throughout Northern Nevada, including: Lamoille, Elko, Duck Valley, Winnemucca, Lovelock, Battle Mountain, and Fernley.

To represent the citizens of the second district and understand all Nevadans concerns Kristen stated:

There is a new way to enjoy two lakes with just a quick bike ride along the bike trail just completed by the U.S. Forest Service.

The Fallen Leaf Bike Path connects cyclists from the Fallen Leaf Lake Campground to the Pope Baldwin National Recreation Trail. The trail offers riders a safe and exciting alternative.

As reported by South Tahoe Now in April, the new trail also provided installation of bmps, upgrades, reconstruction and relocation of adjacent unauthorized trails.

Students from the South Lake Tahoe area graduated from Generation Green, a program designed to introduce students to careers in natural resources management through a transformative summer experience.

Bijou Community School PTA is hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new playground that was built thanks to the generous donations of a multitude of community members, businesses, and foundations. This project has been the epitome of a community effort with over 40 donors helping the school's PTA raise over $100,000.

We wish to thank:

-Bijou Students and Families who raised over $36,000 at last year's walkathon;
-Harrah's/Harveys Lake Tahoe
-Edgewood Co.
-American Century
-Vail Resorts (ECHO)
-Salesforce
-Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation
-June Taylor

Crews have been working on an underground stormwater system in the Bijou area of South Lake Tahoe. The work is causing both Fairway Drive and Bal Bijou Road to have detours during the week but open and no controls on weekends.

Work is wrapping up with the installation of a box culvert for Bijou Creek and work is now focused on new curbing and inlets. The Bal Bijou storm drain system will be connected at US 50 next week, with curb installation to follow.

Two fires were quickly extinguished by the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department in the early hours on Sunday.

In the first incident, a fire was reported off Echo Road behind the power substation near the Stateline Raley's. When firefighters arrived at about 12:20 a.m., they found five foot flames coming from what was later determined to be an illegal campfire at a transient person's camp. They quickly cut a line around the fire and contained it to a 10 foot square.