lake valley fire

Lake Valley Volunteer Firefighter’s Association held its 55th annual Fire Fighters Ball on March 10, 2017. The Ball was given a new theme this year as the fire fighters hosted a sold out elegant event at the Edgewood Tahoe which included fine dining, a presentation by Lake Valley FD Honor Guard, auctioning of firefighters skills such as yard cleanup, car detailing to name a few, an ongoing silent auction packed with dozens of items that were so generously donated to Lake Valley by our community and live music and dancing.

Lake Valley Fire Protection District is holding their 2nd annual Community Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday, April 16 at Tahoe Paradise Park. 10,000 eggs will be hidden at the park and the Easter Bunny will be there for free photos. There will also be a fire truck and special Golden Eggs with prizes.

Parking at the park is limited so it is suggested everyone plans on arriving at 9:30 a.m. for the 10:00 a.m. hunt.

Family fun for all ages. For more information, call 530-577-3737.

Sunday traffic heading west from South Lake Tahoe has been a major problem from the city to Meyers all winter long. Last week, on March 5, there were reports of travel time on the 9.3 mile route along Highway 50 from Stateline to Meyers taking eight hours, and from the Y to Meyers, four hours for the 4.3 mile trip.

The public is invited to a Forest Fuels Workshop held during a special meeting of the Lake Valley Fire Protection District's next board meeting on Thursday, March 9.

They will be meeting in the Lake Valley Fire Station #7's training classroom starting at 10:00 a.m. Lunch will be provided.

Agenda:

Plege of Allegiance
Welcome by Chief Alameda
Introductions - Agency affiliation and Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team Membership
Historical overview of Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team (TFFT)
Accomplishments
Lunch Break
SNPLMA Round 16
Fuels Reductions
PTIER
TNFAC

During the height of Tuesday's blizzard, Lake Valley Fire (LVF) crews responded to home in Meyers where a tree had fallen and crashed through the roof, pinning one person against a window.

A Sokolov family of three, Paul, Jamie and Alyssa, lived in the home which suffered major damage as the mature tree went through the roof, through bedrooms and to the garage. Jamie was pinned, but LVF was able to quickly extricate her, the rest of the family and their pets.

Miraculously, all were unharmed.

A 13-year-old boy is lucky to be alive this afternoon after falling through the ice at Lake Baron on the South Shore.

The teen was riding his bike on top of the ice December 28 when his front tire fell through the thinning ice, then he and the rest of his bike followed.

A visitor, Ian Whitmarsh of Oakland, Calif., heard the young man's shouts for help and crawled out onto the ice to help rescue the unidentified boy.

There is a full schedule of activites on the South Shore this weekend, plenty to do for the younger set as well as adults. Busy Santa can be found all over town!

Family Friendly -

Cruise with Santa aboard the M.S. Dixie II - Sunday, December 11, 2016, 12:00 – 2:00 pm, Cruise with Santa aboard the M.S.Dixie (530) 543-6191

A long standing holiday tradition on the South Shore is about to get underway. Decorated fire trucks from both the Lake Valley Fire and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Departments are ready to make their rounds in the community.

The SLTFR truck will leave Station 3 at 5:00 p.m. nightly from December 10-24. Here is their schedule:

Saturday, December 10- Keys/Venice
Sunday, December 11 - Glenwood
Monday, December 12 - Keys Blvd / State Sts
Tuesday, December 13 - Barton/Tahoe Island

November 17, 2:30 p.m. update: There are about 500 provisional ballots from the South Lake Tahoe and Meyers areas that need to be counted, along with a few mail-in ballots.

According to Linda Webster, Assistant Registrar of Voters for the County, there are a few mail-in ballots still to be counted county-wide. She expects there will be an update to the returns before Thanksgiving with a final release of figures right after the holiday. It will be that final report that will include the provisional ballot count.

6:00 a.m. 11/9 Update: It took awhile for ballots to be counted, but 100 percent of the precincts have now been counted for El Dorado County and South Lake Tahoe. The results are unofficial as some mail-in ballots will still be tallied.

Former councilwoman Brooke Laine and hospital executive Jason Collin will be headed to the South Lake Tahoe City Council in what turned out to be a close race with local politics newcomer, Tamara Wallace. Current Councilwoman JoAnn Conner will not be returning for a second term.

SLT City Council results, the top two vote-getters win:

As a resident of the District for the past 38 years, with the last 11 years serving as Director for the Lake Valley Fire District (LVFD) Board and 10 years as Chairman of Cal Tahoe JPA, our local emergency medical service (EMS) provider, I wish to leverage my experience and continue my passion for community service as a Director of LVFD. With a distinguished career in public service of over 40 years, having many years of experience in oversight and management in local Fire District some noteworthy accomplishments are:

On Friday, Dec. 2 the Meyers Community Foundation (MCF) will hold the sixth annual Tree Lighting at 5:00 p.m. in the Divided Sky/Downtown Café parking lot. The MCF will serve popcorn, hot chocolate and other goodies.

The Christmas fire truck and Santa will return via the CALSTAR helicopter (weather and circumstance permitting). The event is free and open to the public.

The Meyers Community Foundation (MCF) is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to improving life in Meyers, California through its support and promotion of creative and sustainable local projects and community-enhancing events.

Location

Two hot topics for locals were discussed during a Caltrans informational meeting at the Lake Tahoe Airport on Thursday evening: A roundabout and viaduct replacement.

The 3-legged Roundabout

Citing the safety of the intersection of Highway 50 and 89 in Meyers as the catalyst, project managers, engineers and planners unveiled their plans for a three-legged roundabout at the intersection to the dozens of interested citizens who attended.

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.

Homeowners in the Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) area are encouraged to take advantage of their free curbside chipping service through the month of October.

The chipping crew is still actively responding to requests and will be available through the month as long as conditions permit.

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.

Update 5:00 p.m. 9/7/16: The man killed in Monday's hiking incident near Cascade Falls has been identified as Airman 1st Class Tyler Oimoeon of Beale Air Force Base. He from Mt.Horeb, Wisconsin.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Airman Oimoen's family, coworkers and friends," Lt. Col. Matthew Mountcastle said. "During this difficult time, we are caring for his family and coworkers with the support of the Beale community."

* * * *

A 21-year-old man died at Cascade Falls on Monday afternoon after taking a fall off granite rocks in the area.

South Shore ambulance service has been a hot topic both locally, and across the county with growing concern over the costs and resulting manpower shortage of providing interfacility transfers (IFTs) to facilities outside of El Dorado County.

To understand the recent actions of the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (BOS), a look at the past year is warranted.

The City of South Lake Tahoe Wants Out of the Ambulance Business

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue recently promoted three men to the position of Battalion Chief, a move that Fire Chief Jeff Meston says will improve safety for both citizens and personnel.

Jim Drennan, Tim Spencer and Karl Koeppen are all now Battalion Chiefs for the City of South Lake Tahoe. Between them, they have over 61 years of firefighting experience.

The City of South Lake Tahoe hosted its first annual 4th of July parade on Monday, July 4, 2016. There were a total of 78 vehicles and approximately 200 people on foot either walking, biking, or dancing. American Legion Post 795 served as the parade marshals.

The City of South Lake Tahoe would like to say "Thank You" to all the parade participants, businesses and volunteers for making the 4th of July parade a fantastic community event!

The following current and former US armed forces members participated in the 4th of July parade;

Depending on where you live on the South Shore, you may be able to have a wood fire in your outdoor fire pit, or, maybe not.

Restrictions differ between Tahoe Douglas Fire Department and the City of South Lake Tahoe and Lake Valley Fire Departments.

Cal Fire and the U.S Forest Service also have fire regulations to be aware of.

The 3rd annual Wildfire Safety Expo will be held in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, June 11 from noon to 3:00 p.m. at the TJ Maxx parking lot at the "Y" where Highways 50 and 89 meet.

A Christmas Valley family is safe after their home suffered substantial damage in an early morning fire on May 16.

A family of three awoke to the sounds of their smoke detectors wailing and called 9-1-1. At that time, they didn't see flames but quickly exited the home.

Firefighters from the Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) responded at 4:50 a.m. to the 3300 block of West River Park Drive where they found the second story fully engulfed in flames.

Join other South Lake Tahoe residents on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. at the South Lake Tahoe Community College and learn how to keep your home and neighborhood safer in the event of a wildfire.

Firefighters and community safety personnel need the public to help protect their neighborhoods from catastrophic wildfire. They are holding the two-hour long seminar as a new effort to help those living in Lake Tahoe in protecting their homes.