hwy 89

8:00AM update 10/15: Highway 89 remains closed in both directions from Fallen Leaf Lake Road to Emerald Bay due to the Emerald Fire which remains 80 percent contained this morning. Acreage burned is 210 acres.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

There are 3 engines and 12 firefighters still on the scene.

Opening time for Hwy 89 is still unclear. CHP estimates Saturday afternoon and Caltrans estimates the road will be closed until Monday. This is to allow crews to clean up the fallen trees and other debris on, and near, the roadway.

Now that the 4th of July holiday has passed, construction on the Caltrans Hwy 89 project along the West Shore of Lake Tahoe is now on an overnight schedule and will remain so for the next several weeks during the peak summer season, the department announced today.

Contractor Road and Highway Builders now works a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. shift during the week and 10:00 p.m. Sunday to 6:00 a.m. Monday. That schedule is expected to continue until August 15. Completion of the project was originally targeted for the end of this season, but some work now will extend into 2017.

Thousands of bicyclists will be sharing the highways around Lake Tahoe on Sunday and during practice rides on Saturday. Drivers on Highways 50, 89 and 28 will need to be aware of the extra activity on the road created by riders participating in the 25th America's Most Beautiful Bike ride, a 72-mile ride around the lake.

Prescribed fire operations are scheduled to continue around the Lake Tahoe Basin on Monday, March 21, weather permitting.

The areas on the map scheduled to be burned, weather permitting:

A) Burton Creek State Park between North Tahoe High School and Rocky Ridge Properties, 35 acres of hand piles to be burned by California State Parks starting 3/21/16.
B) Sugar Pine Point State Park - Hwy 89 across from General Creek Campground, 12 acres to be burned by California State Parks starting 3/21/16.

12:30 p.m. update February 18:

The sun is coming out over Lake Tahoe after a quick moving storm left over two feet of snow at the upper elevations, one foot at lake level.

Chain controls remain at this time, with chains are required on all vehicles except 4WD with snow tires on all 4 wheels from Meyers to Twin Bridges.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will be performing grinding and paving work on sections of State Highway 89 in the Tahoe City area the next three days.

The work will take place from Blackwood Creek Road to and including the Truckee River (“Fanny”) Bridge in Tahoe City. It’s scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Feb. 9-11 and will require one-way traffic control.

Here is an update for road conditions and weather forecast for Friday, December 11.

Chain controls are widespread this morning:

At 8 a.m., chains or 4WD with snow tires are required all the way on Highway 50 from Meyers to Pollock Pines.

Chains are required on all vehicles except 4WD with snow tires on Hwy 89 from Pickett's Junction to 2.7 miles south of junction with Highway 50 in Meyers; from 4.5 miles north of Y to Bliss State Park, then chains or snow tires from Bliss State Park to junction of I80.

The annual Valhalla Holiday Faire will be held at the Tallac Historic Site this weekend, inside the Valhalla Grand Hall. This is an annual holiday tradition for many, who head out to the hall to see local artists, craftspeople, Santa Claus, choirs and musical groups.

After the grand opening Friday night, the faire continues on Saturday, November 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Sunday, November 22 the hours will be from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations over the next few weeks in various locations around the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Depending on daily weather forecasts, operations are planned in the following areas:

East Side of Second Creek Drainage - 3 acres
East Side of Third Creek Drainage - 10 acres
Douglas County - Zephyr Cove Park near Warrior Way - 8 acres
Hwy 89/ Grass Lake Rd - 122 acres
Meeks Bay/Meeks Meadow - 285 acres

There will be an escorted processional from South Lake Tahoe to Placerville on Thursday to honor 21-year-old Mikey Hallenbeck. The young U.S. Forest Service firefighter, and Sierra-at-Tahoe employee, died while fighting his very first fire on Saturday

The U.S. Forest Service and cooperating fire agencies will escort Hallenbeck from the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe to his final resting place. The procession will start at approximately 10 a.m. and proceed westbound on Highway 50 up Echo Summit, through Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, down to Placerville. It is expected to end at 2 p.m.

As I sat on the lawn in front of the historical Dangberg Ranch on Sunday, I smiled and imagined that South Lake Tahoe could have such a place.

The house that stands at the Dangberg Ranch, which is adjacent to the Park Ranch on Hwy 89 just north of Mottsville Lane, was home to a family that played an important role in the growth and shaping of the Carson Valley. They founded Minden, NV and established many businesses in the areas of banking, farming and a hotel. Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park preserves this essential chapter in Nevada’s history.

Cyclists from around the country have descended upon South Lake Tahoe for the 24th annual America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe on Sunday, June 7, 2015.

All 3,500 spots have been filled by riders participating in the 72-mile around the lake ride, the 100-mile Century ride and the 35-mile fun ride which includes a boat cruise.

Some roadways in South Lake Tahoe will have restricted parking from Thursday, May 7 at 5 p.m. through Sunday, May 10 in order to accommodate the women cyclists racing in Amgen Tour of California events being held locally.

Street parking is not allowed during these time periods in the following areas with-in the city limits:

· Pioneer Trail from the Intersection of Hwy 50 in the Stateline area to the City Limits by Black Bart Avenue
· Keller Road from Pioneer Trail to Saddle Road
· Tamarack Ave from Pioneer Trail to Blackwood Ave

Wind gusts that reached up to 150 mph last weekend knocked over power poles and toppled trees onto live electrical wires throught the Liberty Energy territory in Northern California.

“Basically, crews have been working non-stop since the first storm arrived on Friday,” according to Mike Smart, Liberty Utilities-CA President. “For the past four days, we’ve reset poles, restrung wire and even made repairs to another utility’s infrastructure because it affected our ability to serve our customers.”

In what has become a very busy year at Lake Tahoe wildlife Care, another bear was added to their den on Friday after his mother was hit and killed on Hwy 89 near The Cantina on October 4.

Tom Milham, LTWC co-founder and Secretary/Treasurer, went on the air at all of the local radio stations on October 16, asking for the public's help in finding Gardner after several sightings in the Y area. When he got the call that someone saw Gardner near Anderson Bike Rentals, Milham and Fish & Wildlife showed up with a cage full of food. They safely got Gardner into the cage.

9/29/14 update: Heavy precipitation over the weekend allowed firefighters to achieve 90 percent containment of the Cascade Fire near Snow Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. Crews will begin repairing impacts from fire suppression activities and will monitor the fire to detect any renewed activity later this week due to drier, warmer and windier conditions.

Bayview Trailhead and Campground and TaylorCreek Sno-Park on Hwy. 89 have reopened. The cause of the 20-acre fire is under investigation, but it has been determined to be human-caused.

Visitors and locals alike will find a variety of activities to enjoy in South Lake Tahoe on Sunday, August 31.

The highlight of the day will be the Annual Labor Day Fireworks show. The show features a simultaneous music broadcast that can be heard on local stations KRLT-FM 93.9 and KOWL - AM 1490. Show begins at 8:30 p.m. The fireworks are visible from all over town.

America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride isn't your normal Sunday bike ride unless you normally ride around Lake Tahoe with 3,000 of your friends. The annual bike ride has been bringing riders to Lake Tahoe annually for the past 22 years.

This year's 23rd Annual event is on Sunday, June 1. With the temporary closure of the Horizon for remodeling, the staging for the ride has moved across the street to the MontBleu.

A simultaneous sting operation between the California State License Board and the Nevada Contractors License Board snared 11 people on the California side of South Lake Tahoe and 8 on the Nevada side on Wednesday.

Named the "Border Blitz," the sting was conducted at a SLT single family home near the Hwy 89 and Hwy 50 intersection (the "Y")and at a condominium in Stateline, NV. Investigators from the CSLB and NCLB posed as homeowners seeking bids for various projects that included exterior painting, deck work, landscaping, and other tasks requiring general "B" contractor skills.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Snow on the ground, a decorated Grand Hall which is home to the 18th Annual Holiday Bazaar at Valhalla Friday through Sunday. Local artists and vendors will have a variety of hand crafted and other special items for purchase.

On Saturday and Sunday there will also be performances by the local school choirs and other musical groups, Santa will stop by to spread holiday cheer and an assortment of hot cider, hot mulled wine and holiday cookies will be available for purchase.

Two pedestrians were struck by a car last night on Highway 89 in the vicinity of Brother's Bar & Grill resulting in life threatening injuries. The injured are a husband and wife visiting from Germany but names and ages are unknown at this time. Apparently they were attempting to cross the road when hit. The driver that hit them was not intoxicated and stopped to render aid immediately. The male pedestrian was transferred to Renown Medical Center in Reno by Cal Star. There is no report on his condition at this time except that he had major injuries.

UPDATE: The following is a prepared statement from the Brotherhood Motorcycle Club in response to the arrest of an alleged member of the club. It is in response to a news release made Tuesday by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. Here is the statement:

As tree-felling operations under the South Shore Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration project move to new areas, the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit reminds the public to stay clear of active operations. “Heavy equipment operators can’t easily see people walking or biking through their operations, so if you’re disregarding posted signs and forest closures, you’re putting your safety at risk,” said LTBMU forester Duncan Leao. “Respecting closures will help us open recreation areas back up more quickly by minimizing interruptions to tree thinning operations.”

The League to Save Lake Tahoe is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service this summer for two community beach clean-up days around Lake Tahoe. Volunteers will be helping to clean-up our beautiful beaches. Keeping Tahoe clean and blue is a year round effort and we need the help of residents and visitors alike.