storm

Due to ongoing power outages and damage caused by extreme winter conditions in Lake Tahoe, a West Shore Safety Assessment Operation is being coordinated by a group of local agencies led by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) and North Tahoe Fire Protection District (NTFPD) to make sure residents are safe. Other participants include the Placer County Office of Emergency Services, Meeks Bay Fire Protection District, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, and NTFPD Community Emergency Response Team are coordinating a West Shore Safety Assessment Operation.

A 43-year-old woman from Tahoe City, Calif., was killed Thursday after a tree fell onto her car as she was driving north of Squaw Valley on SR-89.

According to the California Highway Patrol in Truckee, several cars were on the roadway at about 6:30 p.m. when a tree fell onto the road, hitting two cars, a Subaru and Cadillac Escalade.

The driver of the Subaru was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another tree fell on a third car as the driver stopped to check on the occupant of the Subaru. Occupants of the Cadillac and Tesla were uninjured.

South Lake Tahoe students are able to enjoy the never ending snow day with school being canceled for the fifth straight day on Friday, January 13. Due to the extreme snow removal conditions still going on throughout South Lake Tahoe, on all bus routes and school sites from the week long blizzard, Lake Tahoe Unified School District officials decided to call a snow day.

Snow removal has been ongoing and very difficult due to the amount of and consistency of the snow, the notice of cancellation said.

Good morning skiers and riders, and if you are visiting, welcome to Lake Tahoe!

Today is January 12.

A WINTER STORM WARNING CONTINUES TODAY THRU 10:00PM THIS EVENING… GOOD NEWS IS THERE’S MORE SNOW FALLING AND WINDS HAVE DIED DOWN…

MOST RESORTS ARE DIGGING OUT AND PLANNING TO HAVE SOME LIFTS TURNING… EXPECT DELAYS AND LOWER MOUNTAIN LIFTS TO OPEN FIRST AND UPPER MOUNTAIN LIFTS AFTER SNOW SAFETY. CALL AHEAD…

STAY ON DESIGNATED OPEN RUNS ONLY AND BE SAFE. STAY OUT OF THE BACK COUNTRY TODAY…

Power is back on for 16,300 Liberty Utilities customers tonight after crews have been working nonstop to restore electricity after lines were knocked down during this week's epic blizzard.

As of 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, 6,500 locations are still being tended to.

NV Energy joined Liberty Utilities to address the issues, at times having to snowcat in miles during the height of the storm to replace a power line.

All schools in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District will be closed on Thursday, January 12 due to the continuing blizzard.

"Snow removal conditions are ongoing and very difficult due to the amount of and consistency of the snow," said Christy Blach, Transportation Supervisor for the district. "Roads are too narrow for school buses to navigate safety. Roads are too hazardous for students to get to bus stops safely."

Only essential staff should report to work, District Office, snow removal and maintenance.

Good morning skiers and riders, and if you're visiting, welcome to Lake Tahoe!

Today is Wednesday, January 11.

A BLIZZARD WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY THROUGH 10:00AM THIS MORNING… FOLLOWED BY A WINTER STORM WARNING POSTED TODAY THRU THURSDAY MORNING… AVALANCHE WARNING POSTED TODAY THROUGH 5:00PM.

Power outages are still plaguing Lake Tahoe area residents and businesses, and Liberty Utility crews have been working nonstop to deal with the issues caused by the blizzard. There are currently approximately 20,000 customers without power in El Dorado, Placer and Nevada counties.

"All Liberty Utilities and NV Energy crews have worked together through the night," said Liberty Utilities spokesperson Kathy Carter. "Because of the numerous large trees that have fallen through lines and wires down, it is causing the restoration process to be very slow working one community at a time."

Lake Tahoe Community College will be closed Wednesday January 11 due to power outages, severe weather, and continuing road condition issues.

The college wants to assure students that they will work with them to make up lost days of school, but their safety comes first.

"While we are very concerned about the loss of student learning this week, we have to be more concerned about the safety of our students, faculty, and staff," said LTCC President Kindred Murillo. "The decision maker was the City of South Lake Tahoe issuing a request for community members to stay off the roads."

After drivers were stuck on both sides of Echo Summit starting at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, Caltrans has closed the highway as of 7:05 p.m. Eastbound traffic is being stopped at the Sly Park, and westbound in Meyers. Unsafe driving conditions due to heavy snow and the threat of avalanches have been a concern all day.

As of 7:00 p.m., cars hadn't moved much. For a short time at 4:00 p.m. Caltrans was attempting escorted travel from Meyers heading west before closing down the highway.

Snow. You know, that frozen, fluffy white stuff that covers the mountains around Lake Tahoe? With less than stellar snowpacks over the last several winters, many might have forgotten what snowstorms really could look like in South Lake Tahoe. This week, however, memories are being refreshed with a blizzard impacting the Sierra Nevada that could bring up to seven feet of snow to the lake.

Due to current weather conditions in South Lake Tahoe, the Barton Health system will have limited operations. They are asking patients to contact their care providers' office to confirm their operating hours: http://www.bartonhealth.org/directory

- Barton Emergency Department (2170 South Ave, South Lake Tahoe, CA) will operate normally, 24/7.
- Barton Urgent Care (155 Highway 50, Stateline, NV) is planning to operate as scheduled, from 8am-6pm.

Based upon the National Weather Service issued blizzard warning, the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit offices in South Lake Tahoe and Incline Village will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

They plan to re-open on Thursday morning, conditions permitting.

6:00 p.m. update Monday - Power is back on to all but 50 customers along the West shore. Liberty Utilities said their crews were able to rebuild a major transmission line today that serves the West Shore. The 50 customers still without power are along SR-89 between Squaw Valley and Truckee as well as in a couple of scattered areas. With the snow coming down hard now, Liberty will continue to monitor this line as well as work on restoring power to those customers without service.

10:00 p.m. - 20 customers are without power near Turnback Lane and Golden Bear due to a tree falling on a power line.

* * *
9:15 p.m. - The power has been restored to all South Lake Tahoe customers affected from Al Tahoe to Heavenly. Those who were affected on the west shore and north shore have not yet been restored.

* * *
Liberty Utilities is reporting a circuit tripped in the substation at Stateline, putting 2,700 customers in South Lake Tahoe into the dark.

The customers stretch from Heavenly Mountain Resort to Al Tahoe and some stop lights in the area are also out.

7:25 p.m. update Sunday - A second evacuation site has been set up at South Tahoe Middle School in the Multi-Purpose Room. It will accommodate pets and is staffed by the City of South Lake Tahoe staff and South Tahoe Action Team volunteers.

* * *
The City of South Lake Tahoe and American Red Cross have opened an evacuation center at South Tahoe High School in the school's student union.

It is located at 1735 Lake Tahoe Boulevard. The Recreation Swim Complex is not available as an evacuation center due to flooding at that location.

Traffic heading west from South Lake Tahoe is once again creating a long line of vehicles from the area near Ernie's and Tahoe Cottage Inn on Highway 50 over to Echo Summit.

With the road closure on Lake Tahoe Blvd., traffic heading to South Upper Truckee Road is being diverted onto Sawmill Pond Road, adding to a jam at the intersection with Highway 50.

There is also traffic heading west on Pioneer Trail.

Caltrans crews were on Highway 50 over Echo Summit all night, keeping an eye on areas known for mud slides.

With Sunday's warm storm expected to drop up to a foot of rain on Lake Tahoe, area ski resorts are closed. High winds are also forecast for upper elevations.

"Guest and employee safety is our primary concern," said a message on Sierra-at-Tahoe's twitter page. "Thanks in advance for your understanding."

Heavenly Mountain Resort, Kirkwood, Squaw Valley / Alpine Meadows, Northstar, Sugar Bowl, Mt. Rose and Tahoe Donner have also joined Sierra and other resorts in closing mountain operations for the day.

Weather conditions are expected to worsen over the weekend and increased power outages are anticipated. Liberty Utilities is doing all possible for preventative measures, however they are urging their customers to be prepared.

The utility company has added additional line crews for the weekend in preparation and will address the most serious and potential safety situations in priority.

They are asking customers to only call in case of an emergency 1-844-245-6868.

9:45 a.m. update- Chain controls over Echo Summit have been removed as rain starts to make its way into the Lake Tahoe Basin. Expect other controls to be dropped but always be prepared and log onto http://nvroads.com/ and http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ for the most up to date road information.

* * *

With flood warnings up around Northern California and Western Nevada, Douglas County officials are alerting residents of a flood watch issued for the area from late Saturday night January 7 through Monday morning, January 9.

Douglas County Emergency Management is preparing for changing flood conditions and the safety of Douglas County residents.

If the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast is correct, South Lake Tahoe could see the largest rain/snow weather event since the memorable floods of 1997 and 2005.

Those traveling to South Lake Tahoe, and those that live here, are being warned to be prepared for the storm which is slated to reach the Sierra overnight Saturday and last until Monday.

Good morning Lake Tahoe skiers and rider, and if you're visiting, welcome to Lake Tahoe!

Today is January 5.

LOTS OF FRESH POWDER REPORTED AT ALL RESORTS… THE WINTER STORM WARNING IS POSTED THRU 10AM THIS MORNING… ALL LIFTS WILL OPERATE WIND & WEATHER PERMITTING AND WITH DELAYS FOR SNOW SAFETY PROCEDURES… CALL AHEAD.

R1 & R2 ROAD RESTRICTIONS ARE POSTED ON ALL HIGHWAYS IN AND AROUND LAKE TAHOE. HWY 89 EMERALD BAY ROAD & HWY 207 KINGSBURY GRADE ARE CLOSED.

BUCKLE UP AND CARRY TIRE CHAINS AND BE PREPARED FOR WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS…

Good morning Lake Tahoe skiers and riders! If you are visiting Lake Tahoe, welcome!

January 4, 2017

A CHALLENGING HUMP DAY TO MAKE TURNS… A WINTER STORM WARNING IS POSTED THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING… ALL LIFTS WILL OPERATE WIND & WEATHER PERMITTING… UPPER MOUNTAIN LIFTS ARE CLOSED AT HEAVENLY, SIERRA AT TAHOE, SQUAW, MT ROSE & MAMMOTH… ALPINE MEADOWS & DONNER SKI RANCH CLOSED TODAY… CALL AHEAD.
R1 & R2 ROAD RESTRICTIONS ARE POSTED ON ALL HIGHWAYS IN AND AROUND LAKE TAHOE. I-80 & HWY 89 EMERALD BAY ROAD & HWY 207 KINGSBURY GRADE ARE CLOSED.