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More than 275 traffic enforcement stops were made by Nevada Highway Patrol troopers on Northern Nevada highways in a 10-hour period from 7 pm Monday until 5 am Tuesday morning.

Only seven motorists, or roughly three percent, stopped during that timeframe were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Many of those motorists stopped were designated drivers for passengers riding in the vehicle who were celebrating the New Year and had already consumed alcohol.

The City of South Lake Tahoe’s “live” snow removal route interactive map is available on-line. Visit the webpage often to view where the City’s snow removal operators are clearing the roadways.

Updates to the “live” snow removal route map are provided as streets are plowed every 8, 16, and 24 hours.

MOUNT SHASTA, Calif. (AP) - Officials have closed a section of Interstate 5 in Northern California after a storm dropped heavy snow and led to cars and trucks sliding on the slippery roadway.The Ca...

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will begin the sale of holiday tree permits the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, Nov. 23. Permits cost $10 each (cash or check only, no credit cards) with a limit of two permits per family. Permit holders may choose from a variety of pine, fir or cedar in designated cutting areas and must abide by specific permit conditions for proper and responsible collection. Harvesting smaller diameter trees offers residents and visitors a traditional holiday experience while helping to thin the forest.

Follow the money trail on the “Hole” fiasco and you will find a mess. When the hole first stopped all of the reasons that were given by Randy Lane were false, wrong and an outright lie to the people of South Lake Tahoe. The real reason work was stopped was due to the two liens filed by two Nevada companies that did work and never got paid. In California when there is a lien on a job all work stops until the contractors are paid, no money no work.

The names of the four people killed in a fiery crash Tuesday on Highway 50 near Dayton in Lyon County may be released on Wednesday, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol. The accident happened shortly before 9:00 a.m. east of Dayton and involved two pickups and a one-ton truck each towing a trailer with two transporting cattle. The four who died and the three injured are all believed to be from Northern Nevada.
Here is a news release by the Nevada Highway Patrol:

Residents and visitors are urged to help protect public safety and the environment during the Fourth of July holiday by keeping wildfire prevention in mind.
The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management unit reminds folks that having fireworks of any kind — and sparklers are considered fireworks — is illegal in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Campfires are not permitted on Forest Service beaches or in the general forest. For Wednesday, July 4, 2012, only, personal barbecues are allowed at Nevada, Pope and Baldwin beaches but are not permitted on any other Forest Service beaches or in the general forest.

On Sunday, America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride participants will be riding clockwise around Lake Tahoe and from Tahoe City to Truckee and back to Tahoe City, beginning and finishing at the Horizon Casino Resort at Stateline, South Shore, Lake Tahoe, Nevada from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

The Tahoe Transportation District will host an Open House forum on Wed., May 16, to discuss the SR Highway 28 corridor safety and congestion issues. The forum will introduce the East Shore Express, a proposed shuttle from Incline Village to Sand Harbor Beach State Recreation Area this summer as well as updates on the North Demonstration Bikeway, a 3-mile off-road path between Incline Village and Sand Harbor.

South Lake Tahoe dispatch reports Pioneer Trail, from Sierra House School to Cold Creek, is temporarily closed due to rushing water on the roadway.
Apparently water is cascading into the street causing portions of the road to buckle, according to dispatch.

The Nevada Division of Emergency Management/Homeland Security and the National Weather Service are partnering together to educate the citizens of Nevada on National Flood Safety Awareness Week, March 12-16.

According to the National Weather Service, Floods and Flash Floods are the #1 weather-related killer in the United States and can occur any time of the year. This is why the Nevada Division of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service Offices in Reno, Las Vegas, and Elko want to help spread the word about being flood safe.

Recognized for stewardship and care taken in the building and construction of developments around Lake Tahoe, the 22nd annual Best in the Basin awards were announced Tuesday by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
The TRPA, which sets policy for development around Lake Tahoe, will recognize the winners, listed below, during the 2011 Best in the Basin awards presentation during the meeting of its Governing Board on Wednesday, Feb. 22 in Stateline. Go here for the agenda.

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.

An Incline Village couple have been identified in the fatal pedestrian accident on Friday night at a crosswalk on State Route 28 in Incline Village. The Nevada Highway Patrol reports Robert C. Mathis and Linda Mathis, both 46 and husband and wife, died from injuries sustained in the accident. Family members have been notified.

Construction has wrapped up on three roadwork projects in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin, Caltrans reports Wednesday in a news release. The projects were designed to improve water quality and traffic safety in the region.

By Heather Gould
Amid voting for favorite websites, blogs, restaurants, American Idol contestants and more, residents of South Lake Tahoe have the opportunity to vote in an actual public election. Elections for the Lake Tahoe Community College board, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District board, the South Tahoe Public Utility District board and a ballot measure regarding recreation funds will all be decided by voters on Nov. 8.

12:10 p.m. update: The Associated Press is reporting that the Carson City Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the shooter in the Carson City IHOP incident has died of his self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Update 11:45: At least three people, two uniformed members of the National Guard, have died in a shooting this morning shortly before 9 a.m. at the International House of Pancakes, IHOP, in Carson City, according to Sheriff Ken Furlong. In all, 10 people were shot, with three dead as of 11:30 a.m.

The suspected shooter, reportedly using an automatic weapon, apparently shot himself and is clingling to life, Furlong said during a press conference. Three police chaplains have also been called in to respond to and speak with families of the shooting victims. The shooting on South Carson Street has the roadway closed at both sides of Highway 395 and at Eagle Station Lane.

A couple inside the restaurant, Howard and Evelyn MacDonald from Southern California who were visiting family from Carson City, both managed to escape with other customers out of the back door of IHOP when bullets began flying. The MacDonalds said they had been eating their breakfast when they heard several shots being fired, windows breaking and an employee who came out of the kitchen yelling "Get out now!" said Howard MacDonald.

"I'll never forget that sound," said Ellen MacDonald.

Across the parking lot at Locals' BBQ, owner Ralph Swagler said witnessed much of the shooting. He said that he and his son were inside his restaurant when he saw a man pull into the IHOP parking lot i a blue minivan, where he began shooting outside the restaurant. Swagler said he then saw a body on the ground next to a motorcycle, as the male shooter began shooting from the front of the restaurant to the inside. Swagler said the weapon was a fully automatic assault-style weapon, in which he said the man fired off an entire clip, reloaded and then walked inside the IHOP and began shooting.

The shooter then walked outside restaurant, saw Swagler and his son as they attempted to lock the Locals' BBQ door, then began shooting at the restaurant, he said. And then Swagler said the gunman began shooting at the H&R Block office next door.

Stray bullets have been found all over the area, in between the McDonald's building and Casino Fandango, as well as throughout the IHOP parking lot.

Law officers from agencies around Northern Nevada are responding to scene, with officers asked to respond to Carson Tahoe and Renown Medical Center in Reno to speak with and identify the victims, according to police scanner dispatch.

Developing ....

By Kristi Boosman
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is continuing efforts to encourage public-private partnerships that improve the clarity of Lake Tahoe by bring properties along Highway 50 into compliance with Best Management Practice (BMP) erosion control requirements.