lake valley fire

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Time is of the essence when fire hits your home. Things can rapidly change from smoke to flames, sometimes giving those inside very little time to get outside to safety.

Even though smoke detectors have been required in new construction and in homes undergoing a remodel for decades, not all homes have working detectors. They are broken, have a dead battery, or missing completely.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - An early morning fire damaged the second floor of a South Lake Tahoe home on Springwood Avenue Monday.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue received the emergency call just before 5:00 a.m. December 14. Upon arrival they found a home with heavy smoke coming from the second floor. The homeowners were able to get out safely after trying to extinguish the flames.

Ring in the holiday season with the Meyers Community Foundation and enjoy their virtual tree lighting celebration on Friday, December 4 at 6:00 p.m.

To comply with COVID-19 safety precautions they moved the annual tradition to Facebook. It can be watched live here - www.facebook.com/MeyersCommunity/live.

The Virtual Meyers Community Tree Lighting Celebration will feature comedian and radio show host Howie Nave doing the annual countdown to light the very special tree. Lake Valley Fire District will join in and illuminate the holiday spirit.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - The final tabulations are now complete for El Dorado County and the November Presidential election results for the county have been certified.

Here are the final results:

City of South Lake Tahoe - Measure S (Majority to Pass)

9,667 / 12,739 75.89% of registered voters counted
558 Undervotes
2 Overvotes

Yes - 5,804 60.04%
No - 3,303 34.17%

South Lake Tahoe City Council (Top Two Win)

9,667 / 12,739 75.89% of registered voters counted
4,406 Undervotes
38 Overvotes

The time-honored tradition of Lake Valley Fire Protection District touring streets in their jurisdiction with a decorated fire engine returns starting December 11.

Due to COVID-19, the Holiday engine will not be handing out candy canes this year but all are welcome to wave and say hello from a safe social distance. Each night they start their trek between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

December 11 – Echo View Estates, Tahoe Mountain Road, Mule Deer Circle

December 12 – Lake Tahoe Blvd from Boulder Mountain Drive to Grizzly Mountain Drive

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A burn ban in the Lake Tahoe Basin was put in place this summer in response to the unprecedented and extreme fire conditions in California. While there were no major fires in the Basin there were record setting acres burned across the state.

A ban of charcoal barbeques, wood fire pits and open burning was but in place along with extra bans during Red Flag Warning conditions.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The El Dorado County Elections Department has tabulated another 16,320 ballots. They plan to have the count of 9,200 mail-in ballots completed Friday. Then there will be about 1,200 provisional ballots left to count and some ballots that were waiting on signature corrections.

At this time, 105,725 ballots have been counted of the possible 135,554 voters (77.99%).

4:00 p.m. UPDATE: There will be no more updates to the El Dorado County ballot count on Wednesday. According to election officials, mail in ballots are being counted but nothing will be updated on their website until tabulations occur Thursday afternoon.

There have been no updates since Tuesday night to the Douglas County election results.

The community is invited to attend the Tahoe Chamber’s 13th Annual Blue Ribbon Awards to honor South Shore businesses and individuals that have impacted the community for the better. In place of the annual awards dinner, winners will be announced in an awards show that is pre-filmed and broadcast on Lake Tahoe Television on November 19 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Those wishing to attend the free event can register in advance on TahoeChamber.org to get direct access to the awards ceremony.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are three open seats on the South Tahoe Public Utility Board of Directors this election season, two for a four-year term and one for a two-year term.

South Tahoe Now reached out to the candidates and below are their answers to a set of questions. For the two four-year terms, incumbent Kelly Sheehan is running for reelection, Duane Wallace is running after being appointed to fill Jim Jones's spot on the board until this election, and they are joined by David Peterson.

LAKE TAHOE - A person hearing cries for help from Lake Tahoe Friday evening brought out a full emergency response to the middle of the lake.

An investigation is underway, but Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District (TDFPD) Marshal Eric Guevin was able to release a few details about the October 9, 2020 incident.

Guevin said their Marine 24 responded along with the US Coast Guard after the person hearing the cries notified first responders. Not knowing exactly where the calls for help came from, responders headed toward Pope Beach. The first 911 calls were heard just before 7:00 p.m.

The Tahoe Chamber collected 190 nominations from the community for the 13th annual Blue Ribbon Award to celebrate the businesses, non-profits and individuals that make the South Shore of Lake Tahoe so unique. Local businesses have been a resilient backbone of the community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and honoring their contributions, achievements and milestones is more important than ever before.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The planned two-week closure of U.S. Highway 50 along a 1.2 mile stretch of Echo Summit will begin Friday, September 18 at 3:00 a.m. One-lane controlled traffic has been happening all week, and now both lanes will be closed as crews replace the 1939 bridge with brand new girders to meet seismic and safety standards.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Candidate paperwork is filed and we now know have a better picture of who willl appear on the ballot November 3 South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County.

For many positions the deadline was Friday, August 7, but if an incumbent chose not to run, that date was moved to August 12.

This story originally listed 11 candidates for City Council but Kevin Brunner did not get the reqfile. valid signatures to file.

As of Wednesday, August 12 at 5:00 p.m., the following candidates turned in their paperwork:

South Lake Tahoe City Council (Two open seats)

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue recently held ceremonies for the hiring of three new firefighter/paramedics and the promotion of three to the rank of captain. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, ceremonies were small and held at the fire station during their shifts.

Captain/Paramedic Mike Taormina

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Tyler Pevenage, a recent graduate of South Tahoe High School, was awarded the “Michael Hoffman Memorial Scholarship” in the amount of $1,000.

This award is sponsored by the California State Firefighters’ Association Northern Division and open to family members of firefighters.

Tyler’s outstanding academic achievement, involvement in high school sports, leadership, and volunteer work in the community earned her this scholarship that is renewable yearly up to $4,000.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Fire season is upon us and many restrictions are now in effect where outdoor burning, campfires, and fire pits are concerned. 2020 started out with the driest February on record since the 1850s, and there is an increased fire danger posed by dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the region.

It is important to understand that with all of the different fire areas around Lake Tahoe, there are different rules.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It was a perfect day, at a perfect location, at a perfect celebration to wrap up what wasn't such a perfect senior year of high school.

On Friday afternoon, one by one, the South Tahoe and Mt. Tallac High School seniors stepped out of their decorated cars amidst cheering from teachers and staff. They sent the students onto the red carpet, down the stairs to more cheering, and dancing, and more red carpet, as they made their way onto a ski lift at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Two men were pulled from the chilly waters of Lake Tahoe after their kayaks capsized late Saturday afternoon.

At approximately 5:00 p.m. on June 6, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue's Marine 17 was dispatched to the water off of Baldwin Beach for possible kayakers in distress. One of the kayakers was able to make a call and the GPS coordinates put the two men several hundred yards off the shore between Baldwin Beach and Emerald Bay.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Valley Fire Protection District didn't have to search far for its new chief to replace the retiring Tim Alameda. Brad Zlendick, who has been in the interim chief role since March 18, is now officially the LVFPD fire chief.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - The Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities is presenting their eighth "Tip of the Week," an ongoing series for the public since they are unable to perform their normal community outreach services. All tips are ways people can prepare for wildfire while staying at home. They will be providing a total of ten tips.

Tip #8: Create Defensible Space

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The commitment of Bread & Broth over the last thirty years has solely focused on the mission to ease hunger in the South Lake Tahoe community. That mission took on new meaning beginning in mid-March with the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak when record numbers of individuals seeking food assistance from the various programs and services provided by B & B.

MEYERS, Calif. - The members of the Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) help the community every day as first responders and protecting the community, but they are now adding on a new role.

They have donated money as well as started a program to go grocery shopping for the elderly in their district or for those unable to get to the store due to coronavirus impacts.

Last week members of the district's foundation presented a check for $1,000 to Bread & Broth to help supply food to those in the community who are impacted by layoffs due to the coronavirus.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - New figures have been released by the El Dorado County Elections Department.

As of 11:38 p.m. Tuesday, all 198 of the precincts have been counted with 52,093 ballots of the 124,979 registered voters, or 41.68 percent.

Measures affecting the County portions of the South Shore, Measure B and Measure M are not meeting the required 2/3 vote to pass at this time.

The results as of 11:38 p.m. Tuesday:

Measure B, the Lake Valley Fire Protection District tax - 2/3 vote needed to pass
There are 5,917 registered voters

Yes - 1,203 - 58.60%