road

The 2016 Street Vibrations Motorcycle Rally is underway and the Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) is asking all motorists to use extra caution over the weekend. An estimated 50,000 motorcycle enthusiasts will take to northern Nevada streets during the event which runs September 21 - 25.

The NHP today announced that while they wish participating and or spectating to have a great time at the event, they also urge to be aware of this large influx of motorcycles and keep your eyes out for them while operating on our highways.

A man attempting to cross Highway 50 east of Lakeview Avenue sustained non-life threatening injuries after he was hit by a car at 6:53 p.m. Monday.

According to witness statements, the 52-year-old transient tried to cross the road from the lake side of the road, paused in the center lane, then ran across the eastbound lanes. He was struck in the fast lane by a car driven by a 32-year-old man from Stateline. Those witnesses said the pedestrian was possibly under the influence of alcohol when he was hit. He was transported to the hospital.

9/19/16 update 8:00 p.m. - The Owens River Fire has now burned 6,050 acres east of Highway 395 and is now 20 percent contained. The fire is burning southeast of June Lake and northeast of Mammoth Lake.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS
State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

Tim Anderson, a South Lake Tahoe flooring contractor, was run over by a car near his home on August 24. He was air-lifted to a trauma center where he remains in critical condition with a tracheotomy, internal injuries, a broken pelvis, broken ribs, scapulas, and other serious injuries. He is breathing on a ventilator and cannot yet talk.

Tim's three sons, Christian, Corey (& fiancé April) and Cameron, and his best friends, Andy, Jody and Joe have been by his side, as well as the Reilly family, Mickey, Mark, and his grandchildren.

Thousands of drivers pass by this tree on a weekly basis, but how many of them know of, or see, the memorial plaque sitting in a tree high above the road near the intersection of Highway 50 and Ski Run Blvd in South Lake Tahoe.

Long-time local resident, and veteran, Ken "Tahoe SkiBum" Curtzwiler placed the "9-11 Never Forget" in the tree at 1:00 a.m. on September 10, 2003 and it has remained in place ever since.

A high speed pursuit that started near Sierra-at-Tahoe on Wednesday ended with the suspect crashing his 2006 BMW and being airflighted off the highway due to his injuries.

On September 7, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer spotted 27-year-old Allen Elseth from Lodi, Calif., driving at high rates of speed and crossing over the double-yellow lines on Highway 50 near the ski resort exit.

Low-cost community flu vaccination clinics will start in South Lake Tahoe on September 28 and on October 5 on the West Slope.

The El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency, Public Health Nursing will be conducting the clinics through mid-November for just $10 per vaccine. No one will be denied service due to inability to pay.

The body of a missing Gardnerville woman was found by searchers on Sunday near old Kingsbury Grade. At 10:00 a.m. a bicyclist on the road spotted her abandoned pickup truck with the passenger side door open and called authorities.

Randi Maclean, 51, was found down a steep canyon after Douglas County Sheriff's Office Deputies and Search and Rescue team members combed Daggett Creek and the surrounding area for several hours. A helicopter from the California Highway Patrol that was near the area at the time of the initial call joined in the search but was unable to locate Maclean.

In celebration of the end of summer in South Lake Tahoe, the annual pyrotechnic extravaganza will explode over the lake at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 4.

The show features a simultaneous music broadcast that can be heard on local stations KRLT-FM 93.9 and KOWL - AM 1490.

Fireworks will be visible from many viewing areas around the South Show, but here are some of the sweet spots to get a front row seat:

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) will step up their pedestrian safety enforcement operations during the month of September as part of “California Pedestrian Safety Month.”

With a rapidly increasing number of pedestrians being killed and injured on roadways in the state of California, the Senate passed a resolution to bring attention to the 813 pedestrians killed on California roadways in 2015 alone. This was nearly 25 percent of all roadways deaths in the state, up from 17 percent just ten years earlier.

10:30 a.m. update: The Ralph Fire, burning in the Heavenly Creek/Powerline Trail area above Ralph Drive in South Lake Tahoe, is now 60 percent contained.

Firefighters are now in mop-up mode and full containment is expected shortly according to the U.S. Forest Service.

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The fourth fire to burn around South Lake Tahoe this week burned almost three acres early Friday morning in heavy brush on a steep slope above Pioneer Trail.

The stretch of Highway 50 from Stateline to Spooner Summit (known as the corridor) will be looked at in the near future to address numerous safety concerns from cars parked on the side to unsafe intersections.

At the last meeting of the Tahoe Transportation District Board of Directors, several residents spoke up about safety, and offered several ideas to correct the issues.

The focus of the 20th Anniversary of the Tahoe Summit is on the environment. And there is much to celebrate as lake clarity has improved; collaboration among agencies is strong and numerous restoration projects have been completed. But 20-20 hindsight also means that if only we had thought more about the impacts that focusing solely on the environment would have on our economy and community, we could have accomplished much more. Now, twenty years later, we find ourselves trying to play “catch up” on these other two areas.

A woman driving on a country road on the rims of her car is suspected of starting multiple fires which make up the Willow Fire, a 450-acre fire currently burning in Calaveras County.

An investigation by peace officers with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Tuolumne – Calaveras Unit determined that Renee Hogan drove on a flat tire along Mountain Ranch Road, east of the town of San Andreas, when sparks created from the dragging metal rim started several fires in the surrounding vegetation.

Most lane closures will be restricted from 6 a.m. Friday, September 2 until 8 p.m. Tuesday, September 6 because of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to just north of Granlibakken Road in Tahoe City that is upgrading storm water drainage and treatment systems, adding curb and gutter, resurfacing and realigning the road, adding new left-turn pockets and widening shoulders on an 8-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

When students make their way through the doors of classrooms in Lake Tahoe Unified School District on Monday, 22 new certified staff members will be there to greet them.

Al Tahoe Preschool: Michael Pulley, Early Childhood Education Specialist

Tahoe Valley Elementary: Chelsea Casey, Special Day Class

Lake Tahoe Environmental Magnet School: Anne Lafferty, Special Day Class and Leah Stockton, 1st Grade

Sierra House Elementary School: Jennifer Bronken, 4th Grade and Tamara Dupuis, School Nurse to be split with Bijou

Construction and maintenance work will cause day and night time traffic delays along a 45-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 50 between Camino and Echo Summit over the next three months, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has announced.

Crews will be setting up lane restrictions on the four-lane section of U.S. 50 in the Camino area and one-way traffic control on the two-lane stretch of highway over the summit. Motorists can expect up to 20-minute delays. These lane restrictions will continue through the end of November, weather permitting.

It is with deep heartbreak we say goodbye to Shallyn Diane Farris. She was a bright angel on this earth, full of life, love and kindness for all who knew her. Many who have visited South Lake Tahoe's Magic Carpet Golf over the years may have met Shallyn while she was working in the family business.

The native Sonoma county resident died on July 17, 2016. Shallyn loved horses, music, soccer, her family and friends. She was a graduate of El Molino High School and studied cosmetology at Lytles Beauty School.

The Douglas County Search and Rescue (DCSAR) is looking for physically fit and energetic individuals to participate in its fall academy and join it’s highly qualified team. DCSAR is comprised of approximately 50 trained volunteer members within the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and responds to emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

In operation in South Lake Tahoe since 1964, Tahoe Asphalt Inc. will replace their aging equipment this fall, some as old 63-years-old.

The batch plant, the only one of its kind in the Lake Tahoe Basin, was recently granted approval for their renovations by the South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission after a series of public meetings. Located on Industrial Avenue, it predates most buildings west of the "Y", but a few neighbors were concerned about the plant and what it does to the environment.

El Dorado County Sheriff's deputies responded to the call of a disabled vehicle and came away with the arrest of two women on several charges stemming from what was found in that car.

On August 17, 2016, at approximately 6:45 a.m., the deputies went to the car which was in the roadway of Strolling Hills Road at the entrance to Safeway in Cameron Park. Once there they contacted two women, Tanya Starks, 35, and Kimberly Higgins, 47.

Weekday lane closures will begin today, August 15, State Route 28 south of Incline Village as the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) starts work on a multi-year project to construct a shared use path and make other roadway safety and water quality improvements.

Through fall, drivers should anticipate periodic construction-related lane closures on State Route 28 in the Ponderosa Ranch and Tunnel Creek areas south of Incline Village.

Starting Monday, September 12, State Route 89 will be closed during the daytime hours of 4:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for two weeks. The road will close just north of South Lake Tahoe from Cascade Creek Bridge to Bayview Campground and Inspiration Vista Point.