spooner

South Lake Tahoe native Zach McAllister passed away unexpectedly on November 12, 2016. His bright smile and beautiful soul will be deeply missed by his family and friends. His passing has left a huge hole in each of our hearts.

Chain controls around most of the South Shore have been lifted this morning, but a Winter Weather Advisory is still in place until 4:00 p.m. Sunday so that can change.

Highway 50 over both Echo and Spooner Summits is open with no controls as of 9:00 a.m. Sunday. Kingsbury Grade is clear as is Hwy 89 on the West Shore.

Highway 89 at Luther Pass requires chains or snow tires. Hwy 89 at Emerald Bay, Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four wheel / all wheel drive vehicles with snow treaded tires on all wheels.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and U.S. Forest Service have scheduled prescribed fire operations around the South Shore from Spooner Summit to Meyers, weather and conditions permitting.

Starting Sunday, November 6, the agencies will start burning hand piles off Logan Creek Drive and on Kingsbury Grade on the East Shore, and on urban lots near Heavenly Mountain Resort and off North Upper Truckee Road on the South Shore.

Nevada (Locations and planned date of ignition):
Logan Creek - 10 acres of hand piles start November 6

There have been two more small fires around South Lake Tahoe in the last four days, the most recent Tuesday night.

On Saturday, September 24 at 6:30 p.m. there was a small wildfire on National Forest land off Park Avenue. It was approximately 20 feet by 20 feet and the cause is under investigation.

Tuesday, September 27, there was a small wildfire near the same location reported at 10 p.m. It was approximately 50 feet by 50 feet and also remains under investigation.

A fire near Spooner Lake brought out multiple agencies and the two SuperScoopers staying at the Lake Tahoe Airport Tuesday afternoon, but the quick response kept the fire at just over 1/2 acre before being contained.

With Red Flag conditions existing at the time, engines and crews from the US Forest Service, Cal Fire, Tahoe Douglas Fire, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and BLM all responded to the Spooner Lake State Park after receiving the call at 3:58 p.m.

The trip from Lake Tahoe to Reno will be a shorter one once the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) completes the final leg of the I-580 Carson City Freeway. As of Thursday, construction is 50 percent completed.

Those making the trip down Highway 50 to Carson City have seen almost one million cubic yards of earth excavated to make way for the future roadway that will be completed in 2017.

The excavation was needed to lower the elevation of sections of the freeway to bring the road below existing overpasses and reduce traffic noise.

The stretch of Highway 50 from Stateline to Spooner Summit (known as the corridor) will be looked at in the near future to address numerous safety concerns from cars parked on the side to unsafe intersections.

At the last meeting of the Tahoe Transportation District Board of Directors, several residents spoke up about safety, and offered several ideas to correct the issues.

Starting Monday, September 12, State Route 89 will be closed during the daytime hours of 4:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for two weeks. The road will close just north of South Lake Tahoe from Cascade Creek Bridge to Bayview Campground and Inspiration Vista Point.

Magic Fusion at the Loft Theatre & Lounge. A perfect blend of intimate Magic & Comedy. (530) 523-8024. The Loft Theatre & Lounge at the Heavenly Village, 1021 Heavenly Village Way

Pope House Tour at the Tallac Historic Site - The Pope House Tour is the perfect way to see how the rich and famous lived while at Lake Tahoe, from the separate kitchen to the elegantly restored formal dining room. This docent guided tour takes approximately an hour and is filled with stories of early times. (530) 541-5227, Pope House at Tallac Historic Site, Heritage Way

Earlier this week, the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) resumed a project to eradicate, control, and contain known infestations of invasive plants in the Lake Tahoe Basin using chemical treatment. The work will continue at approximately 70 infestation sites through September, 2016.

On Saturday, June 11, residents and visitors receive free day-use admission at all of Nevada's 23 State Parks as part of “Discover Nevada State Parks.”

This statewide event encourages Nevadans and visitors to explore the outdoors.

Discover Nevada State Parks day is also an opportunity for visitors to take the passport challenge and add a stamp to their passport booklet, or if they don’t have one yet, to pick one up while visiting a state park. Once visitors have their passports stamped at 15 different parks, they earn a free annual pass to all Nevada State Parks.

Mountain Resort Television reporter Nicole Marsel interviews Curtis Fong about Sunday's annual America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride, an event he created 25 years ago.

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.

UPDATE 2:00 p.m. - Three young adults were taken into custody Monday morning in connection with the fatal shooting of a young man over a marijuana deal near a park in north Carson City, Sheriff Ken Furlong said.

The three — two men and a woman — were arrested without incident by Carson City SWAT at an apartment complex on Fifth Street near Harbin Street. The three came out following demands by SWAT to surrender after investigators learned they had been hiding inside a residence.

3:20 p.m. update 12/13/15: Chains controls have expanded. Chains are required on all vehicles except 4WD with snow tires from 9 miles east of Placerville to 3 miles east of Pollock Pines, then snow tires or chains until 5 miles east of Kyburz where it is chains or 4WD with snow tires to Meyers.

Chains or snow tires around the lake including Spooner Summit and Kingsbury Grade.

I80 is chains or 4WD with snow tires from Nyack to Truckee. Trucks are being screened at Applegate and Nevada State Line for maximum chains in possession and permit loads are prohibited.

Those of us who live in South Lake Tahoe, or find ourselves visiting often, already know that the region is experiencing a rebirth, one that makes it exciting times to be there.

Trip Advisor customers feel the same way, voting South Lake Tahoe one of the Top Ten destinations in the country that are "on the rise."

The article:

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.