tahoe douglas

The annual television meteorologist's conference, Operation Sierra Storm (OSS), couldn't have happened at a better time to bring the national spotlight to early January's storms fondly nicknamed Snowmageddon and Januburied.

Jim Cantore and Paul Goodloe, leading correspondents at The Weather Channel, both broadcast live from Heavenly Mountain Resort and showcased South Lake Tahoe’s powder-filled ski conditions for two days, eight hours each day during the historic snowfall January 10-13, 2017.

If you or your child go to school in Lake Tahoe, consider yourself off for the day.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District has canceled school on Tuesday, January 10 due to blizzard conditions, extending the two-week break another day.

Lake Tahoe Community College is closed. Sierra Nevada College is closed.

Both Douglas County Schools at the lake, Zephyr Cove Elementary and George Whittell High School are closed. Jacks Valley Elementary School in the valley is closed due to flooding but all other County schools are open.

1/1/17 update 3:20 p.m. - A local restaurant manager has been identified as one of the victims in the South Lake Tahoe New Year's fire that destroyed both sides of Round Hill duplex.

Joanna Janowicz, manager of Casey's, an American Cantina at the Round Hill mall, her five-year-old son and boyfriend were out to dinner when fire broke out in their home, destroying all of their belongings and killing their three pets.

A quick response by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) saved a Merced Avenue four-plex from major damage Wednesday night.

At 10:54 p.m. December 14, SLTFR received a call of fire in one of the four two-story units. When they arrived they found the bottom floor engulfed. Within seven minutes, the fire was knocked down according to South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston.

The Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club is holding their annual scholarship Burger Night at the Ski Run Red Hut on Wednesday, December 7 from 12:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Everyone attending gets a burger meal with homemade chips and a large fountain drink for just $10 a person. The owners of the Red Hut are giving 100 percent of all proceeds to the Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club scholarship fund for both South Tahoe and Whittell High School students.

Tickets are available from members or at the door.

The Red Hut is located at 3660 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

The Tahoe/Douglas Elks Lodge #2670 is an organization that invests in its communities through programs that help those in need. On Monday, November 14th, the Elks Lodge hosted the Bread & Broth “Adopt A Day of Nourishment” Monday Meal that provided hearty dinners to many disadvantaged members of our community. With the $250 donation provided by the Elks Lodge’s sponsorship, B&B was able to provide full course, nutritious meals to the grateful folks who came to St. Theresa Grace Hall for a free meal and food to take home.

The three members of the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District Board went out into the community to thank the voters.

Here is their message to the residents of the district:

7:00 a.m. 11/9 update: 100 percent of the precincts have been counted in Douglas County.

Douglas County School Board

Area 3
Keith Byer 13,009 65.88 %
Michael Kiger 6737 34.12 %

Area 4
Linda Gilkerson 11,760 58.19 %
Larry Lippman 8450 41.81 %

Cave Rock General Improvement District

Ralph Miller 53 43.80 %
Joanne Zerg 45 37.19 %
Michael Rooney 23 19.01 %

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District

Greg Felton 1710 27.57 %
Ann Grant 1680 27.08 %
Larry Schussel 1678 27.05 %

Many are ready for this election to be over the national level with the negativity surrounding the campaigns. On a local level there are several choices before voters.

If you have not already submitted your ballots, find your polling place here:

California
Nevada

If you live in the South Lake Tahoe City limits, you are able to vote for two of ten candidates for City Council (in alphabetical order):

Brooke Laine
Dan McLaughlin
Jason Collin
JoAnn Conner

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and U.S. Forest Service have scheduled prescribed fire operations around the South Shore from Spooner Summit to Meyers, weather and conditions permitting.

Starting Sunday, November 6, the agencies will start burning hand piles off Logan Creek Drive and on Kingsbury Grade on the East Shore, and on urban lots near Heavenly Mountain Resort and off North Upper Truckee Road on the South Shore.

Nevada (Locations and planned date of ignition):
Logan Creek - 10 acres of hand piles start November 6

The 38th Annual Freaker's Ball, Lake Tahoe’s largest, oldest and most extravagant Halloween party, brings the wild with a four-ring costume circus in the Convention Center, Opal Ultra Lounge and Blu Nightclub venues at MontBleu on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, at 8:00 p.m. Cost is $35 prior to Saturday, then $40 at the door if tickets are available. Costume contest with prizes.

On Friday, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino holds the 2nd Annual Rockin’ Dead Halloween Bash inside Vinyl starting at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $25. Costume contest with prizes.

Firefighters from the South Shore jumped on an early morning fire behind Meek's Lumber on Lake Tahoe Blvd. Friday.

At 3:02 a.m., people driving by saw the flames and called 911. South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue responded along with Tahoe Douglas Fire, resulting in two engines, medics, an ambulance and battalion chief at the scene.

This fire was burning at the same time as the Emerald Fire off of Highway 89 in the Spring Creek area.

One acre burned and the crews were released just before 6:00 a.m.

5:50 p.m. update: A vegetation fire in Rave Meadow between Kahle Drive and Elks Point Road in Stateline consumed about 1/4 acre before being contained by fire crews Sunday afternoon.

U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe Douglas Fire and Calfire crews responded.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

* * *

A second fire is burning in the brush off of Kahle Drive in Stateline. First responders said flames are five feet high and so far a patch of 20 feet by 20 feet has burned with a low rate of spread.

Every Monday evening at St. Theresa Grace Hall, Bread & Broth serves hot, full-course, nutritious meals to everyone who stops by between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. Everyone from the community is invited to join the dinner guests and engage in conversation while enjoying the wonderful meals prepared by the talented B&B cooks and served by the dedicated B&B setup/serving crews.

It was 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 28 in the year 1926. Fire had broken out at the Jack Smith Ranch at the base of Clear Creek Canyon above Carson City, Nev.

Flames were high, and the fire traveled up the canyon rapidly, getting ever so close to the source of timber for all of the state's mines at Glenbrook. The fire also burned several ranches. Strong winds fanned those flames, and caused the fire to reverse itself and come down Kings Canyon. Again, it reversed itself and raced up Kings Canyon one more.

I was invited to take part in training with South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue in the demonstration fire trailer on Tuesday, an experience I won't soon forget, even though the temperatures I experienced were far below that of a real fire.

As I put on my fire pants, jacket, boots and head gear, my respect for firefighters instantly grew (even though it was already high on the scale). The heavy clothing protected my skin and clothing as I was exposed to 500 degrees, something most of us will never feel.

September 11, 2001 at 5:51 a.m. PST/ 8:51 a.m. local New York time. Its one of those days, and times, that people remember what they were doing at the exact moment the images of the first airplane guided by terrorists hitting a tower of the World Trade Center.

September 11, 2001 at 6:03 a.m. PST/ 9:03 a.m. local New York time. As most of the nation was watching their televisions or listening to their radios, the second tower of the World Trade Center was hit by another airplane.

A 63-year-old man diving in Lake Tahoe near Glenbrook Bay died on Monday, September 5.

Marine Patrols from Douglas County Sheriff, Washoe County Sheriff and El Dorado County Sheriff, along with Tahoe Douglas Fire all responded to the distress call of a scuba diver in trouble just after 10:00 a.m.

For those that were on the South Shore on August 27, 1980, they'll be able to tell you exactly where they were, or what they were doing when law enforcement detonated a bomb that had been left inside Harvey's Resort casino in Lake Tahoe.

Three men planted a bomb containing 1,000 pounds of dynamite inside a machine they delivered to the second floor. Successful landscaper, John Birges from Clovis, Calif., the mastermind behind the bomb, was attempting to extort $3 million from the casino, claiming he had lost $750,000 gambling there.

An investigation team from the Coast Guard is continuing their investigation into Tuesday's fire on board the Tahoe Queen, which suffered severe damage while it was docked at the pier at the Zephyr Cove Marina on Lake Tahoe's South Shore.

At this point they have not completed their investigation and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Four men from San Francisco are very lucky today after being rescued early Sunday morning after their rented boat sank three miles off shore in the cold waters of Lake Tahoe.

Shouts for help were heard from people staying both at the Zephyr Cove Presbyterian Center and in Marla Bay, and 911 calls were made into the Tahoe Douglas Fire station.

For reasons unknown at this time, the boat started taking in water at about 10:00 p.m. None of the four passengers were wearing life jackets.

Here is some news to take a little “paws” with...introducing the newest trainee on the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District team, Gunner. He is a member of the Tahoe Douglas Explosive Ordinance Disposal team and, once he completes his training, will join six other dogs as canine resources for the Northern Nevada Bomb Technicians Task Force.

The other EOD dogs are from UNR-Police Department, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Reno Police Department, and three from Reno Airport TSA.

Retired Tahoe Douglas Fire Chief Ben Sharit can now rest assured that his former fire department is in good hands with the promotion of Scott Baker to Fire Chief. Baker took over the controls in July 1.

He came to the Tahoe Douglas Fire Department in December as Assistant Chief as a nation-wide search, but it turned out they didn't have to look far as Baker was Division Chief of Fleet and Facilities for the Reno Fire Department.

Veteran community advocate Steve Teshara has accepted the position of Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Board Chair Mike McLaughlin announced the Board’s appointment of Teshara in a statement released July 21.

“Our Board is extremely pleased Steve has agreed to step in to support the Chamber’s mission, membership, and community engagement while we seek a new CEO to move the organization into 2017 and beyond,” said McLaughlin. “Steve adds a unique blend of experiences and accomplishments to our dedicated Chamber staff.”