liberty utilities

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The power in parts of the Bijou neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe is still out this evening as crews hurry to replace a utility pole that was knocked down earlier in the day by a snowplow.

Heavy slush on roads through town isn't just hard for cars to navigate, but City snowplows can also have issues as they work to make the streets safe.

While clearing Herbert Avenue a snowplow accidentally clipped a utility pole, causing it to come down on the cab of the plow, trapping the driver inside until crews could turn the power off.

UPDATE 9:15 p.m. - Crews have identified the cause of the power outage in Spring Creek. A tree has fallen on a power line and crews are working to remove the tree and fix the line.

Another power outage in El Dorado County has 31 more customers in the dark. Crews are responding to that situation as well.

UPDATE 8:10 p.m. - Liberty Utilities now estimates restoration of power to the area by 2:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Crews are on their way out to the Spring Creek area of South Lake Tahoe to investigate the cause of a power outage.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On the heels of their successful supply drive for the victims of the recent Camp Fire in Paradise, Liberty Utilities is now collecting new toys and new clothing for the youngest of the displaced residents.

The local power company is collecting new and unwrapped clothes and toys for kids ages 0-17 Monday through Thursday, December 3-6 at both of their Lake Tahoe offices.

All collected gifts will be delivered to children in the Paradise area on Friday, December 7, just in time for the holidays.

Expect temporary closures on Powerline Trail on Wednesday, November 7 as crews from Liberty Utilities work on broken equipment on a power line near the South Lake Tahoe trail popular with hikers and bikers.

The power line they will be working on crosses the Powerline Trail in a number of locations.

Their work may result in temporary closures on the trail between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Trail monitors will be on site to users to an alternate route in the work area and ensure trail access remains available.

Find out more about the South Lake Tahoe Moose Lodge during an Open House on Saturday, October 27 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Members will be there to share what they do for the community including their fishing derby, food boxes for the community at Thanksgiving, fundraising golf tournament for the SLT Cancer League and much more.

Free hot dogs and refreshments will be served.

Open to those 21 years of age and older.

The Moose Lodge is located at 961 Eloise Avenue (near the Liberty Utilities office) in South Lake Tahoe.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is in emergency mode in extreme fire-risk areas in Butte, Sierra, Placer, Nevada, El Dorado, Amador, Plumas, Calaveras and Yuba counties due to Red Flag warnings by the National Weather Service. These shutoffs will affect about 70,000 customers.

South Lake Tahoe is served by Liberty Utilities and not part of the utility company's plan to start proactively shutting off power for safety as early as 5 p.m. Sunday and continuing through the evening.

There are two planned electrical outages in South Lake Tahoe and Meyers so Liberty Utilities crews can tend to broken equipment.

On Friday, August 24, crews will be on Haidas Circle from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to replace a broken cross arm on a power pole.

On Tuesday, August 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. there is a planned outage in the San Jose Avenue area to replace two power poles and add a transformer.

In both cases, all affected customers have been notified.

There is a planned power outage affecting 113 customers in the Tahoe Keys neighborhood of South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, August 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Liberty Utilities will be replacing two transformers and stringing new primary line along Venice Drive, Lucerne Way and Danube Drive. Residents on those streets will experience either total or partial outages during the day.

Signs have been placed in the neighborhood to alert them of the outage.

One apartment was heavily damaged during an afternoon fire in South Lake Tahoe Wednesday.

At 4:00 p.m. on July 25, 2018, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) was called out to the Rockwater Apartments in the 700 block of Emerald Bay Road. A fire had erupted on the deck of one of the apartments, apparently at a propane tank.

Liberty Utilities crews will be working to make some system improvements this week in Kings Beach and Tahoma, resulting in planned outages to some customers in the area.

On Wednesday, June 27 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Kings Beach area along Dolly Varden, crews will be replacing wire and a transformer.

on Friday, June 29 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Tahoma area along McKinney Creek, crews will be replacing a pole and transformer.

All affected customers have been informed.

10:42 p.m. update: Power restored to all customers at 10:19 pm.

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Multiple agencies have responded to a fire burning in Smith Valley, Nevada that has grown to 1,500 acres as of Sunday evening. It is burning in the area of Highway 208 and the Wellington Cut-Off.

There are approximately 300 firefighters, 25 engines, three helicopters, eight fixed wing and four hand crews on scene fighting fire.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With an increase in the number of dead and dying trees in the Lake Tahoe region, Liberty Utilities has tripled the number of inspectors they use to identify trees that pose a risk to the utility’s infrastructure. The inspection program and subsequent removal of hazardous trees are designed to reduce the risk of power outages, potential wildfires, and to comply with State regulations.

5/8/16 update: The two planned outages will be in the Tahoe Valley area and Stateline area on Wednesday, May 9.

Tahoe Vista Drive (Tahoe Valley area), 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to install new pole & transformer, 15 affected customers notified via door hanger today (5/8).

Stateline, Calif. area (Park Ave, Manzanita, Cedar, Azure, La Salle, Stateline Ave, Poplar, Lake Tahoe Blvd), 7:00 a.m. (changed from 6:99 a.m) and 9:00 a.m. for five minute duration each for NV Energy repairs; 133 customers affected; customers can call 1-800-782-2506 if they want to know if they will be affected.

Liberty Utilities has had to de-energize underground lines in the South Lake Tahoe area so a damaged fire hydrant could be repaired by South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD).

Approximately 115 customers have been without power for the past couple of hours at the request of STPUD after a car ran into a fire hydrant and they had to get underground and repair it.

The hydrant is located on Friant Drive between Matheson Drive and Murietta Drive. All should be back on by 4:00 p.m. according to STPUD.

Once water crews are done the power will be restored.

There will be a free solar workshop for homeowners, business owners and schools offered by Liberty Utilities at the BaseCamp Conference Center at Squaw Valley on Thursday, April 5 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

A wide variety of local businesses will fill Harveys Tahoe on Friday, March 30 for the 2018 GO Local: Business EXPO from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This annual event is a community favorite that aims to showcase the most cutting-edge businesses on the South Shore. This year 85 exhibitors will feature their latest and greatest products, services and promotions. All members of the community are encouraged to attend and can expect a fun night of food tasting, beer and wine sampling, live music and vendor giveaways.

Liberty Utilities is experiencing multiple small outages in the Lake Tahoe region due to the weather.

At this time, there is an outage in the North Lake Tahoe area around Klondike Flat Road, Silverado Way and Hwy 89.

Reports started coming in a 11:43 a.m. and the person tasked with locating the probem was dispatched at 12:36 p.m. and a downed wire was discovered. The line crew was dispatched at 12:50 pm.

No estimated restoration time yet.

Liberty Utilities is offering $4,750 in academic scholarships to eligible high school and college students within its service territory.

The eight schools participating in the sixth annual scholarship program are South Tahoe High School, Loyalton High School, Douglas High School (students residing in Alpine County only), Coleville High School, North Tahoe High School, Truckee High School and Portola High School, as well as Lake Tahoe Community College.

The cumulative results of Liberty Utilities’ quarterly Customer Satisfaction Surveys in 2017 show improvements in corporate citizenship and communications. The survey also showed overall customer satisfaction increased by six points compared to first quarter results.

The online survey is independently conducted by JD Power, and Liberty Utilities’ results are compared with comparable electric utilities in the west. Some highlights of the 2017 survey results show:

Liberty Utilities will host a free solar workshop for homeowners and small businesses on December 19 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the South Lake Tahoe Library.

Find out about solar energy as well as their Solar Incentive Program.

There has been a power outage in the Kings Beach and Incline Village areas due to a NV Energy equipment failure in Incline Village. Liberty Utilities customers were getting a feed from NV Energy as thire Brockway Substation has been down for repairs in preparation for winter.

8.839 business and residential customers in Incline Village are without power, and an additional 1,593 in Kings Beach.

Initially they expected the power to be down until 4:00 a.m. Friday, but Liberty is hoping for power to be back to NV Energy by 11:00 p.m., allowing them to bring all customers back online.

Power is out to residents in the Gardner Mountain and Boulder Mountain Court area Saturday morning. Crews from Liberty Utilities have responded and expect to have power restored within the hour.

Complete details are not yet available but early reports say a car hit a power pole. Liberty Utilities responded shortly after 8:00 a.m.

This story will be updated as soon as details change.

Three small areas at the North Shore of Lake Tahoe will have electricity affected this week as Liberty Utilities works to replace transformers, pads and cable.

The planned outages:

On Monday, Oct. 9: From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Squaw Valley area (Squaw Summit Rd & Summer Place) to replace pad and transformer; 10 customers affected.

Tuesday, Oct. 10: From 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Kings Beach area (Brockway Springs Rd & Chipmunk) to replace vault, 3 new pad mount transformers, rebuild primary riser, run 3 new runs of underground cable; 40 customers affected.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - Helicopters, fire trucks, K-9s and demonstrations are just a few of the activities planned for 23rd annual Fire Fest on Saturday, September 30, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. outside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe.

Admission is free and the event is a great opportunity for families to have fun while learning about safety and conservation.