south lake tahoe fire rescue

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - An explosion and subsequent fire at a South Lake Tahoe home Friday was the result of a butane honey oil (BHO) processing explosion, according to South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD).

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.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) will once again roll its decorated fire engine this holiday season! They announced earlier this week the long standing tradition of the truck going through neighborhoods with Santa on board would not happen due to safety concerns of the pandemic.

SLTFR announced Thursday they wanted to clarify the statement given to South Tahoe Now.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif - It was a true community effort to get the Christmas Tree delivered to the Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe last week. For the third consecutive year, a tree was selected from the South Shore to be on display for the holiday season.

On Monday, November 16, 2020 the 64-foot tree was cut down by Kenny Curtzwiler of K & K Services at 6:30 a.m., lifted by a crane and placed onto a flatbed truck, escorted by South Lake Tahoe Police and CHP, driven to its destination, lifted off the truck and placed into a stand to be decorated.

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. - With the support of South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR), the Al Tahoe neighborhood has begun the process of becoming a certified Firewise USA ® recognized neighborhood.

As part of the application process, SLTFR and Al Tahoe community volunteers will be walking in the Al Tahoe neighborhood October 27-30 and performing random wildfire risk assessment/evaluations on 20 percent of the 1520 properties from the street.

The volunteers will have bright yellow vests on so they can be easily identified

South Tahoe Now reached out to all nine candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council and provided the same list of questions to each one of them. Once a day their answers will be published in the order received.

Today's candidate is Cristi Creegan

Profession: Business Owner

How many years in SLT: 23 years

There will be a South Lake Tahoe Community Blood Drive on Friday, September 25 from 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center located at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd.

To comply with social distancing practices appointments are encouraged and Vitalent is asking all of donors to please schedule an appointment – Click here to make an appointment. Walk-ins will be accommodated if space allows so please schedule an appointment.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On Saturday and Sunday, August 22 and August 23, the Al Tahoe Community will participate in a Neighborhood Clean-up Work Day Event. The two-day event is from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day and is part of their efforts to become a Firewise USA certified district.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and Tahoe Douglas Fire District Zephyr Chipping crews will be in Al Tahoe both days to assist homeowners with creating good defensible space around their properties and will show homeowners how to apply Firewise strategies to reduce wildfire risk.

UPDATE 8/11/20: A 28-year-old man from Napa, California has been identified as the person who died in a tragic boat incident off shore from South Lake Tahoe on Monday. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) Marine unit responded along with South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Coast Guard.

When the call came in around 3:40 p.m., two men were in the water and a third was inside a rental boat. One of the men, David Castorena, had a major injury to his leg and he as not wearing a personal floatation device, or PFD.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 31-year-old woman from Alexandria, Virginia is in a Reno hospital today after suffering severe injuries in a South Lake Tahoe hit-and-run collision.

At approximately 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, August 4, first responders arrived in the 3300 block of Pine Hill Road near Keller Road and found the victim laying in the roadway, suffering from severe injuries.

Evacuations are underway after a three fires broke out north of Hallelujah Junction near US395 Sunday afternoon. The highway is currently closed in both directions from the junction with SR70 to Contantia Road.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The smoke filling the Lake Tahoe Basin and Northern Nevada Monday morning is from the Hog Fire burning west of Susanville.

The fire is now 5,800 acres and is 0 percent contained.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue has been receiving calls since early this morning about the smell of smoke in neighborhoods throughout South Lake Tahoe.

The cooler nighttime temperatures pushed the smoke down.

The National Weather Service in Reno said a dense smoke advisory is in place for areas closers to Susanville

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe Community College's Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy just graduated its 14th class of firefighters. There were added challenges due to the coronavirus and restrictions on classroom instruction, but with the flexibility of instructors, the state, and the college, the Fire Academy was one of the lucky programs that was able to complete training this year.

Almost all of the following graduating cadets are already employed:

Adam C. Alessi
Melanie O. Andersen
Cody L. Beggs

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Al Tahoe neighborhood of South Lake Tahoe has begun the process of becoming a nationally recognized and certified Firewise USA® community with the support of South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and under the guidance of the National Fire Protection Association.

There is only one other neighborhood, Golden Bear (Lower Montgomery Estates), that is under the Firewise USA® program in the Lake Tahoe Basin though several areas outside the basin in El Dorado and Placer counties are participating.

7.14.20 UPDATE: The City Council voted to cancel or postpone all events on City project due to the new restrictions related to Covid-19. As a result, this event will a virtual meeting starting at 5:00 p.m. on Zoom. No in-person event will take place.

To join the Zoom meeting -
https://zoom.us/j/94670877324?pwd=bDNyM21VT0ptUnpRaGFpM3Z0NG5PZz09
Meeting ID: 946 7087 7324
Password: 426727
Dial by your location - 1.669.900.6833

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Multiple agencies responded to a report of a wildfire at Van Sickle Bi-State Park in South Lake Tahoe Friday afternoon about 5:00 p.m.

They were able to jump on the fire quickly, leaving less than 1/4 acre burned.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, Lake Valley Fire Protection District, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, CAL FIRE Amador-El Dorado Unit and the U.S. Forest Service all responded.

Firefighters have completed a hose lay and hand line around the fire and will remain on the scene to mop it up.

The cause is under investigation.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - One man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after a three-car collision in South Lake Tahoe Monday evening.

At approximately 7:09 p.m. June 8, South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) responded to the call of a crash on Lake Tahoe Boulevard near Fremont Avenue.

On Thursday afternoon about 4:30 p.m. a fire crew from South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) responded to a brush fire at the Christian Science Church near Smart & Final. The crew managed to contain and extinguish the blaze and the church building sustained only minimal damage.

A shopping cart was found near what appeared to be the fire origin and contained what appeared to be personal property. The exact cause of the blaze is unknown but illegal campers have been a continuing problem in that area.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A subcontractor working at the site of a new Verizon cell tower near South Tahoe Public Utility District died Thursday after falling headfirst into a 35-foot by six-foot hole.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - What appears to have been a cooking fire that got away in the forest near Van Sickle Bi-State Park on Saturday brought out a full response from South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue with assistance from Tahoe Douglas Fire, Lake Valley Fire, Cal Fire, and the U.S. Forest Service.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Jay Manning was driving on Lake Tahoe Boulevard near Stateline when he noticed smoke from the park just after 12:30 p.m. on May 16. At that same time, a ranger from the park called into 911 to report a fire.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The line of cars wrapped around the block and down the street in the Al Tahoe neighborhood Friday, all to celebrate a South Lake Tahoe teen's 18th birthday.

With stay-at-home orders in place for both a birthday party and high school graduation, Lisa Calderon had to come up with an idea to make her daughter, Kayla Mason, feel special on her birthday.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The following are the 37 incidents the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and Cal-Tahoe JPA ambulances responded to from April 1-8, 2020.

4/1

00:05:28 - EMS call, excluding vehicle accident with injury - 3100 block of Fresno Ave
15:37:08 - Carbon monoxide detector activation, no CO - 1800 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
15:10:02 - EMS Call, Interfacility Transfer - Barton Hospital

4/2

07:30:48 - Smoke scare, odor of smoke = 1000 block of Al Tahoe Blvd
12:01:06 - Public service - 700 block of Clement St