california

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 24-year-old police officer from Watsonville, California was arrested in South Lake Tahoe early Thursday morning on a felony fugitive warrant out of Douglas County.

Tyler Leroy Stephens, a new officer for the Watsonville department, is currently in the El Dorado County Jail awaiting extradition to Douglas County on counts that include battery and destruction of property.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The City of South Lake Tahoe has released their emergency order that will require masks worn in the city limits starting Friday, August 21, 2020. Below are facts, questions and answers:

What is the mask mandate?

Governor Newsome mandated all Californians wear a mask in certain circumstances to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For more details on that order click here.

How does the administrative fine work?

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The National Weather Service in Reno issued a special weather statement Wednesday, calling for widespread smoke and haze over the Sierra and northern California and western Nevada.

As of 8:00 a.m. the Air Quality measurement in South Lake Tahoe is 82, the moderate range. Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. it jumped to 161, in the unhealthy range.

Fires:
Loyalton Fire is now at 46,386 acres and is 35 percent contained
Claremont Fire near Quincy is 450 acres
North Complex Fires are near Quincy and at 5,400 acres, 5 percent contained

LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif. - The 24th annual Lake Tahoe Summit has moved to a virtual format this year. U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada will be hosting the event that will feature Olympian David Wise as the keynote speaker.

Since the first Lake Tahoe Summit in 1997, the area’s congressional representatives have pledged to keep working together and with local, state, and private sector partners to restore Tahoe’s environment, improve forest health, and confront climate change.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Trash has been the topic of conversation around Lake Tahoe this summer with the influx of visitors during the pandemic and much more trash found left behind. In a few stories this week we will be looking at efforts and education to keep things clean.

LOYALTON, Calif. - Fire officials with the Tahoe National Forest say the Loyalton Fire has now burned 36,295 acres and is at five percent containment as of 8:30 a.m. Monday.

They have determined the fire is lightning caused. It started Friday afternoon east of the town of Loyalton. It spread quickly resulting in the closures of US395 and SR70, both of which have reopened.

A forest closure was issued by the Humboldt-Toyabe National Forest for the Dog Valley area due to the fire's southern spread.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - As most in the South Lake Tahoe and Meyers area already know, getting out of town over US50 and Echo Summit on Sundays and holidays can be slow moving during summer, but during the winter it can be a miserable time both for visitors and locals.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe is the vacation destination for millions of people annually, but recent behaviors of many of the tourists have the residents on edge. Trash is being left behind on beaches, trails and picnic areas, overflowing trash containers are shown daily on social media pages, stores are packed and roads are crowded, all during a pandemic while travel orders are still in place for the California.

With international travel at a standstill many are keeping their vacationing during the coronavirus to locations near their homes, and Lake Tahoe is one of those spots.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Tahoe Township Justice of the Peace Richard Glasson was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nevada Judge's of Limited Jurisdiction (NJLJ), the first such honor to a judge from the group since 2016.

The ceremony was held on Zoom with a group of judges, politicians and court administrators, all telling funny tales of the longest serving Douglas County judge. He has long been appreciated for his sense of humor and appreciation for family and the law.

MEEKS BAY, Calif. - The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is developing a plan to restore Meeks Creek to a more natural condition, while continuing to support sustainable recreation opportunities. The LTBMU, in conjunction with Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, will host a virtual public workshop on the project from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. on August 19, 2020.

Forest officials everywhere are saying: Recreate Responsibly.

Despite large campaigns about fire restrictions and "pack it in pack it out," many visitors to the Eldorado National Forest are not acting responsibly.

Fire and law enforcement officers had another busy weekend contacting a record numbers of visitors about campfires they had made that are not allowed under the current fire restrictions in the Eldorado National Forest.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Work had been underway on two phases of the 3.86-mile long South Tahoe Greenway Shared-Use Trail but activity has come to a temporary halt due to material issues.

COVID-19 resulted in delayed delivery of materials for the precast concrete boardwalk system needed on the trail. The Houston, Texas concrete plant contracted for the project has been directly impacted.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Thunderstorms are expected to move into western Nevada and northeast California Monday and Tuesday, with increasing breezes bringing fire
concerns Tuesday and Wednesday. Daytime temperatures will be near to just above normal this week, with a period of cooler morning lows mid to late week as drier air moves in. There is another chance of isolated thunder storms moving in Friday-Sunday

The forecast from the National Weather Service in Reno:

Starting August 9, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is entering Stage 2 Fire Restrictions in response to the current severe risk of wildfire. Nevada is experiencing record dry conditions with much of the state in a severe drought.

Lake Tahoe has lost one of its icons. At the young age of 66, Terry Alan Ogg left us suddenly July 28, 2020.

Terry was born March 18, 1954 in Richmond, California. He grew up in Pinole, California and graduated from Pinole High School in 1972. As a teenager, he developed a love for music and found his instrument, a "Huge" (his words) Hammond organ. He moved his organ to South Lake Tahoe in 1975 at the age of 21 on a quest to become a rock star, among other interests.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) in South Lake Tahoe is reporting a fatal collision Wednesday on Blue Lakes Road off of SR88 south of Lake Tahoe.

In the early morning hours of August 5, 74-year-old Michael Glenn Pace of Dayton, Nevada was traveling southbound on Blue Lakes Road, north of Sunset Lake Road, when he failed to negotiate a left curve in the road. CHP says Pace went onto the gravel shoulder and attempted to steer back onto the roadway but his vehicle overturned, tumbled 150 feet down a steep embankment and struck a tree.

The California District Attorneys Association today asked NFL Commissioner Roger
Goodell to pull a video produced by the league as part of its new Inspire Change campaign because it “misrepresents the facts” of the officer involved shooting death of Sacramento resident Stephon Clark in 2018.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue recently held ceremonies for the hiring of three new firefighter/paramedics and the promotion of three to the rank of captain. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, ceremonies were small and held at the fire station during their shifts.

Captain/Paramedic Mike Taormina

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 275-acre fire burning in Lassen National Forest is most likely to blame for smoke in the Lake Tahoe Basin and in the Reno area.

The Stump Fire started Saturday afternoon and is near State Highways 36 and 172 near Childs Meadows, in the mountains between Red Bluff and Susanville. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno said some smoke could also possibly be coming from the 1,800 acre Red Salmon Complex fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

People around the country are receiving mysterious seed packets in the mail from China. While the shipping package may be mislabeled as jewelry or other merchandise, the contents are instead unlabeled seeds.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has become aware of a number of reports regarding these seeds.

Some have been mailed to homes in El Dorado County.

El Dorado County Department of Agriculture officials are instructing residents not to open, plant, or dispose of any unsolicited seed packets received, but to contact their office.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Johnson Meadow was once used as a post-Gold Rush dairy farm, became a place for summer cattle grazing, and is now being restored as part of the Upper Truckee River watershed. The Tahoe Resource Conservation District (TRCD) purchased the Johnson Meadow in 2018, a critical step in restoring the river's watershed that contains significant wildlife habitat, including river, riparian, meadow, and upland habitat areas.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There is a Red Flag Warning up for Lake Tahoe and Western Nevada for Monday, July 26 from 5:00 a.m. Temperatures will be near normal Tuesday as the ridge over the Desert Southwest strengthens. By Wednesday afternoon, an upper level trough will move through northern California, which will
subsequently increase winds across the region Wednesday-Thursday. Gusts do not look to be as strong as Monday, and in the 30-35 mph range. Dry conditions will

The UCCE Master Gardeners, serving Amador, El Dorado, Calaveras & Tuolumne Counties, are holding a series of virtual demonstartions and instruction

Cool Weather Crops Presented by UCCE Master Gardeners of Amador County, Saturday, August 15th at 9:00 a.m.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The following is a list of the long term and short term projects the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has scheduled for the week around Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra and El Dorado County.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS