spooner summit

Good morning and happy holidays Lake Tahoe skiers and riders! If you are visiting, welcome to the lake!

Today is Wednesday, December 21, 2016.

WELCOME TO WINTER… SHAPING UP TO BE A GREAT HUMP DAY FOR HOLIDAY SKIING & RIDING… SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS THIS MORNING WITH A TRACE TO 1” OF NEW ALREADY REPORTED. ROAD CONTROLS ALSO POSTED AND CAN CHANGE RAPIDLY…
HAVE FUN AND PATIENCE WITH HOLIDAY LINES… STAY ON OPENED RUNS ONLY AND BE SAFE!

UPDATE 11/28/16 11:00 a.m.: All road restrictions have been lifted around the Lake Tahoe Basin. There is a 10-20 percent chance of snow during the remainder of the day.

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12:00 a.m. update 11/27/16: Chain controls have lowered to Sly Park Road in Pollock Pines, heading eastward to Meyers on Highway 50. Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four wheel / all wheel drive vehicles with snow treaded tires on all wheels.

SR 89 northbound: Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four wheel / all wheel drive vehicles with snow treaded tires on all wheels.

Chain controls are up on area roads this morning after the passing of a small storm overnight.

As of 7:00 a.m. Tuesday:
Highway 50 over Echo Summit: Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four wheel / all wheel drive vehicles with snow treaded tires on all wheels from Meyers to Twin Bridges.

Long before President Bill Clinton's visit to lake Tahoe with Vice-President Al Gore in 1997, and President Barack Obama's visit coming on August 31, 2016, there were two Presidents who enjoyed some time at the lake.

Two men who once served as America's chief executive visited Lake Tahoe and Nevada
in the late 1800s according to former Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha. Both Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes were transported along the lake on the steamboat, Meteor.

As the annual Shakespeare Festival on the North Shore winds down, organizers want to alert Bard fans of possible delays on getting to the event at Sand Harbor, both from the north and the south ends of the lake.

Construction has begun on Highway 28, and continues on Highway 50 around Cave Rock and on Spooner Summit. Lane closures are involved, so allow extra time to get to the the park which is located just south of Incline Village.

The 2nd annual Rock Tahoe Half-Marathon heads to Lake Tahoe on Saturday, June 18. The 2,000 spots for runners are already full, filling up three weeks before the event. The course takes the participants down 1,000 feet in elevation as they pass some of Tahoe's iconic views.

Prescribed fire operations are planned to continue this week on the east and south shores of Lake Tahoe.

The U.S. Forest Service, the Nevada Division of State Lands and the Nevada Division of Forestry will start the fire operations on Monday, May 2, weather permitting.

South Shore: Near Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Sawmill Road, Panther Lane near South Tahoe High School, off Highway 89 near Spring Creek, and off Santa Claus Drive and West River Parkway near Christmas Valley.

Weather permitting, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service are schedule to continue prescribed fire operations starting Monday, April 18, 2016.

East Shore: Burning planned on the north side of Spooner Lake off Highway 28, Spooner Summit, Camp Galilee and on Kingsbury Grade near Edgewood Drive.

South Shore: Burning planned near Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Sawmill Road, Panther Lane near South Tahoe High School, off Highway 89 near Spring Creek, and off Santa Claus Drive and West River Parkway near Christmas Valley.

The proposal to install a 60-foot-long tunnel extension at Cave Rock this summer is the subject of a public hearing by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency on March 31, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.

The agency's hearings officer will meet with all interested parties, public included, on the Nevada Department of Transportation's project to create a safer tunnel due to the falling rock and deteriorating hillside on the westbound lanes of Highway 50 entering the tunnel.

It is slow going over Echo Summit this morning with reported delays of up to an hour. As you can see on the photos here, once past the Meyers chain controls it is much smoother moving.

As of 11:45 a.m. Sunday:

Highway 50 - Chains or 4WD with snow tires from 3 miles east of Kyburz to Meyers

State Route 89 is closed at Emerald Bay. Chains are required on all vehicles except 4WD with snow tires from Picketts Junction to Christmas Valley. Chains required on all vehicles except 4WD with snow tires from 5 miles north of the Y to Emerald Bay.

2:45 p.m. 2/28/16 update:

Two different high speed chases through the Carson Valley and up Kingsbury Grade resulted in the arrest of two men and two women on Saturday, February 27, 2017.

At 3:10 p.m., a trooper from the Nevada Highway Patrol spotted a silver Mercedes-Benz with California plates going down U.S. 50 (Spooner Summit) at 85 mph. The driver failed to pull over for the trooper, instead turning South on Highway 395 towards Minden, Nev., at speeds in excess of 100 mph.

California State Parks, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations started back up today, February 22, 2016.

On the East Shore, operations are scheduled to take place near Logan Shoals Vista Point, Spooner Summit and Sand Harbor. Ten acres on Spooner, 15 acres at Logan Shoals, 150 acres at Camp Galilee and 30 acres at Sand Harbor.

On the South Shore, operations are scheduled near Eagle Point Campground, Spring Creek and Panther Road. Five acres in Angora Creek area, 10 acres on Panther, 30 acres at Emerald Bay.

The latest round of funding through the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) includes more than $3 million for projects to help reduce wildfire risk in Lake Tahoe communities.

The funding award for Lake Tahoe is part of nearly $40 million going to projects around Nevada to reduce wildfire risk, conserve landscapes, restore wildlife habitat, and improve public recreation. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the funding awards this January.

The ski resorts are welcoming new snow as a storm that passed through left behind up to 15 inches of it behind on the slopes. Crews are cleaning up the roads around the lake with many controls in place.

There is an avalanche warning for slopes steeper than 30 degrees. Human triggered avalanches are likely and natural avalanches are possible according to the National Weather Service.

As of 9 a.m., chain controls are up on Highway 50 over Echo Summit, requiring all cars to have chains unless 4WD with snow tires on all four wheels from 3 miles east of Kyburz to Meyers.

It's going to be a white Christmas in Lake Tahoe, with heavy snow expected throughout the day Thursday, leaving an expected extra foot of snow at lake level by Friday morning.

If you are traveling you can expect road controls from chains or snow tire requirements to chains or 4WD with snow tires.

Smoke from local prescribed burns can be seen, and smelled, through much of South Lake Tahoe today. A cool night and low inversion layer have trapped the smoke closer to the ground than normal.

What most residents are experiencing is coming from a 69-acre prescribed burn area near Trout Creek that was ignited Friday. The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department said there are no vegetative fires in the basin.

Smoke was especially heavy Friday night and looked much like fog while navigating many streets in the area.

The date was October 14, 1975. Tropper Gary Gifford was on duty for the Nevada Highway Patrol when the First National Bank of Nevada in Round Hill was robbed. The armed gunman escaped and left by car on Highway 50 towards Cave Rock. At noon, just before the tunnel, Tropper Gifford pulled over the robbery suspect.

There was an altercation between Gifford and the suspect when the tropper was shot and killed. The suspect was able to force another man to drive him around the lake to Kings Beach where he took four people hostage. Later that evening the suspect surrendered to authorities.

Volunteers from the South Shore community have stepped up to adopt, and maintain, the decorative gateways signs that welcome motorists to the Lake Tahoe basin.

The signs read, “Entering the Lake Tahoe Watershed – Help Protect It!” They are meant to remind the millions of people who visit Tahoe each year that they are entering a special place and share a duty to help protect its famously clear waters and unique environment.

Once considered rundown and dirty, Reno, as well as neighboring Sparks, is experiencing a staggering rebirth. Only eight percent of their economy now comes from the gaming and tourism industry, with the remainder coming from a boom of the relocation of manufacturing and distribution companies.

What is evident is that the Reno of today is not the Reno of 25 years ago. It isn't even the same Reno of four years ago.

Nighttime lane closures will be in place over the coming week on South Carson Street and U.S. 50 near Spooner junction for the Nevada Department of Transportation’s Carson City Freeway project.

Lane closures and reduced speed limits will be in place on both South Carson Street and U.S. 50 in the Spooner junction area beginning Sunday, June 19 from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The closures are anticipated to last for approximately one week.

The inaugural Rock Tahoe Half Marathon will bring approximately 5,000 people
including runners, friends, and family to South Lake Tahoe this weekend as they Run, Rock, and Recover in this one of a kind event.

On Saturday, June 20, 2,000 runners will take off along the 13.1-mile course from Spooner Summit and wind their way down Highway 50 along the East Shore of Lake Tahoe to the finish line at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe. The course will also take runners off the highway along the newly completed forest bike path from Round Hill Pines to Kahle Drive.

For 140 years, the Glenbrook locomotive has helped write the history of Nevada and Lake Tahoe.

Whether it was hauling lumber from the great lake's shores up the narrow-gauge line to Spooner Summit from 1875-1898, transporting passengers between Truckee and Tahoe City from 1898-1925, or serving as the largest artifact in the Nevada State Museum's collection from 1943-1982, the Glenbrook is a testament to resiliency.

Lake Tahoe’s natural geography of steep climbs and long descents against postcard views will offer plenty of sites to catch race action as the top women cyclists compete in Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race May 8-9.

With the start and finish line at Heavenly’s California Base Lodge, spectators will be updated with live race announcements, and entertained with high-energy music, local and Amgen Tour of California exhibitors, food and beverage.