Tourism bureaus and U.S. Coast Guard asking visitors to stay away from Lake Tahoe

Even though the Caldor Fire continues to burn on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, the northern end of the lake is open and visitors could try and visit this Labor Day Weekend. It will not be safe on the water with limited resources able to respond to emergencies.

The official destination marketing and management organizations for the various areas that represent tourism to the Lake Tahoe region are joining forces asking all visitors to postpone immediate travel plans due to the Caldor Fire. This includes the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority (Tahoe South) and the North Lake Tahoe Visitor Bureaus (North Lake Tahoe).

Much of the Tahoe Basin, including the City of South Lake Tahoe and West Shore communities in El Dorado County up to the Placer County border are currently under a mandatory evacuation order with the situation continuing to be fluid, and roads are closed.

The following joint statement is being released by the organizations:

“The well-being of our local residents, businesses, communities, and visitors is of the utmost importance to us. At this time, we are asking all guests to postpone immediate travel plans to the Lake Tahoe region until further notice.

Our top priority is helping those affected. We ask for everyone’s support in following the orders of emergency agencies. We would also like to thank the firefighters, city, county and emergency organizations and personnel working to protect our communities for their leadership in coordinating efforts.

We are in close contact with incident authorities and will continue to update wildfire resource pages (Tahoe South, North Lake Tahoe) for both residents and visitors.”

Carol Chaplin, president and CEO of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority
Andy Chapman, president and CEO of Incline Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau
Bonnie Bavetta, Interim CEO of North Lake Tahoe Resort Association

The Coast Guard is urging mariners to avoid all recreational activities on the waters of Lake Tahoe until the wildfires have subsided.

The availability of Coast Guard Station Lake Tahoe boat crews and other emergency first responders on the water may be significantly reduced until area wildfire operations are completed.

"The safety of the public, our crews and other emergency first responders remain the top priority," said Capt. Taylor Lam, the Sector San Francisco commander. "Current conditions in the Lake Tahoe region present a persistent and serious threat to the health and safety of mariners. As such, we strongly urge mariners to avoid any on-water activities at Lake Tahoe until local wildfires have been contained and air quality has improved."