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With hundreds of weekend skiers on the slopes, a glider crash landed on a ski run at Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe on Sunday, with the pilot and passenger having walked away unhurt. No one else was injured.
El Dorado County authorities report the incident happened at 1:26 p.m. near the front of the First Run area of the California Lodge of the Lake Tahoe resort, which straddles the California and Nevada border.
A spokesman for Minden-Tahoe Airport based Soaring NV, said the pilot was flying a Duo Discus aircraft and lost altitude and was forced to land. The pilot is experienced and was doing a flight review, the spokesman said. The pilot and passenger were unhurt, he said.
Heavenly Mountain Resort spokesman Russ Pecoraro called the incident "irresponsible."
"We're outraged that something like this could happen. We're glad that everyone came out of this okay, but there's no excuse for this kind of irresponsible behavior," Pecoraro said in an email. "We'll do everything in our power to make sure this doesn't happen again. We're extremely lucky no one was hurt today."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - South Lake Tahoe Finance Director Christine Vuletich has resigned from her position at the city after accepting a job as assistant county manager/chief financial officer ...

After three nationwide searches Douglas County Manager Steve Mokrohisky found the person he wanted for the top finance job right in his own back yard. The pick was Christine Vuletich, the City of South Lake Tahoe's director of finance.
Vuletich has resigned to take the position in Douglas County offered to her this week by Mokrohisky, where she will serve as the assistant county manager/chief financial officer.

While the rest of the state will have to start paying for radon test kits, they will continue to be free in Douglas County, according to the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension's Radon Educa...

The odds are very high the Highway 28 three-lane project will go ahead as planned and on schedule despite Wednesday's mandated demolition of statewide redevelopment agencies, Placer County Supervis...

Update 2PM: The Following is from South Lake Tahoe Police Department Lt. David Stevenson regarding the Wells Fargo bank robbery that happened late this morning.

Douglas County Republicans will hold both a caucus and a precinct meeting on Feb. 4. At each precinct caucus, Republicans will meet to discuss and debate the experience and qualifications of the pr...

CARSON CITY – A panel of lawmakers today began a review of the state’s 45-year-old formula for funding public education with an eye towards addressing the needs of the state’s urban districts as they work to educate special education students, English-language learners and children in poverty.

The panel is still searching for funding for a study to help in the review, however. The failure to find private funding for a study could jeopardize any meaningful review in this interim, lawmakers were told.

An accident this morning involving a casino shuttle carrying 18 passengers on Highway 50 in Douglas County was reportedly caused by a mechanical problem, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol. The accident was reported at around 9:30 a.m. One person was transported to Carson Tahoe Hospital for unspecified claimed injuries.

UPDATE: 5 p.m.Washoe County Manager Katy Simon has declared an official emergency for Washoe County as the wildfire burns in the northern Washoe Valley area, officials announced in a press release....

Three bear cubs, nursed back to health by Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, Inc., were released into the wild this week.
The bears, each close to a year old, were brought to the South Lake Tahoe facility last summer where they were found malnourished and without mothers.
The California Department of Fish and Game released one of the cubs, a female, north of Truckee on Tuesday and two were taken to Alpine County on Wednesday. The cubs were put into winter dens made by Fish and Game biologists.

View Washoe Drive Fire (1/19/2012) in a larger map

UPDATE 10PM: Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said tonight the Washoe Drive Fire has consumed and estimated 3,700 acres, burned at least 20 structures and has resulted in one fatality.
Hernandez would not go into details of how the person died. He said the 250+ firefighters on the scene have stopped the forward progress of the fire. He said the fire started in the East Lake area, and then followed the Highway 395 corridor north, where it was stopped just south of Galena High School.
Highway 395 will be closed until further notice due to damage to debris and damage to guard rails, power poles and other item near the roadway. Gov. Brian Sandoval told state workers who commute by this route to stay home Friday. Evacuations have been lifted for the Galena area. About 2,000 people are still unable to go back to their homes tonight.
Hernandez said firefighters saved more than 800 homes that were in the path of this destructive fire.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
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UPDATE 9PM: Reno Fire officials report forward progress on Washoe Drive fire has stopped. Fire behavior is moderating due to diminishing winds, lowering termperatures and increasing humidity/moisture moving over the Sierra Nevada/Carson Range. Fire burns more than 3,000 acres with zero containment; 10,000 evacuated; no count on home and structure losses.

U.S. Highway-395 remains closed between 1.8 miles north of Carson City to the Junction of SR 341/431 (Mt. Rose Junction) in south Reno. U.S. Highway 395 could remained closed on Friday (1/20) through the morning commute - make alternate plans.
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At 4:40 pm Thursday, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, under his constitutional and statutory authority, made a state declaration of emergency which qualifies local governments for federal assistance associated with this event. The National Guard is on standby at the request of Sandoval and Washoe County. California has also provided fire assistance as part of a Governor to Governor agreement with Jerry Brown.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been and are being affected by this fire,” Sandoval said. “Declaring a state of emergency ensures that every resource from the local, state and federal level is available to assist. The Nevada Division of Forestry and the Department of Public Safety have also engaged with local responders.”
Additionally, Nevada has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG). As a result, Nevada is eligible for up to 75 percent funding assistance for eligible costs. The request was made by the Nevada Division of Forestry on behalf of Washoe County at the onset of the fire.

More below the fold.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 34-year-old man was killed at Heavenly Mountain Resort Tuesday after suffering chest injuries sustained in a skiing accident, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff'...

Thanks the El Dorado County Branch Library for inviting the Bringing Art to Schools Program to exhibit elementary school projects in their Childrens Room. Beginning with art from Sierra House and n...

CARSON CITY — Nevada ranked 30th among the states in how it protects animals in 2011, scoring only 25 points out of a possible 66, The Humane Society of the United States said in a national report released Tuesday.

By Denny Walsh, Sacramento Bee. The final leg of a European vacation ended abruptly early Saturday morning for three El Dorado County residents when the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground and tip...