winds

South Lake Tahoe fire crews responded Tuesday night to a small brush fire, about quarter acre or less in size off of Eloise and 7th street. It was knocked down at 8:16 p.m. Firefighters who arrived reported smoke billowing with a low rate of spread and were able to get a handle on it with the fire trucks called to it. Firefighters built a "scratch line" ring around the fire and quickly knocked it down. The fire was called in at 8:10 p.m.
A Red Flag Warning for gusty winds and low humidity is in effect for the Sierra and Lake Tahoe Basin through Wednesday.

A Red Flag Warning is in effect through Tuesday night for the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Northern, Central and Eastern Sierra in California and Western Nevada Sierra front, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

With painstaking care, Hector Gonzalez, 12, selected macaroni pieces on Thursday for a name plate that will hang on his door. For the last time this summer, Gonzalez and fellow students gathered...

Isolated to widely scattered thunderstorms will continue to develop across the Lake Tahoe Basin and the Sierra this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

A fire weather watch is in effect from Saturday afternoon through Saturday night for the Lake Tahoe Basin, northeast California and Northwest Nevada, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.
The watch is associated with the possibility of dry thunderstorms and a strong outflow of wind. High pressure will move over the region this weekend with a moist southerly flow that will develop across the Sierra and Western Nevada, according to the weather service.

UPDATE 10:55AM: The Springs fire in the Pine Nut mountains east of Gardnerville in Douglas County held to 1,000 acres overnight and is five percent contained, according to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center. Scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast today.

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10:13PM: Smoke moved into the Lake Tahoe Basin on Sunday night as a result of Sunday afternoon fires sparked by lightning in Douglas County which have reportedly burned about 1,000 acres in the Pine Nut mountains east of Gardnerville. Fire crews are still working the scene, which was said to be growing at a moderate rate. Thunderstorms rattled much of western Nevada Sunday afternoon. Some scattered showers could happen in the Lake Tahoe Basin tonight, according to the National Weather Service in Reno. A Red Flag warning for high winds is in effect for the mountains east of the Lake Tahoe Basin until 5 a.m. Monday morning.

The Forest Service fire chief for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is suspending residential burning, also known as "dooryard" burning, effective today, Wednesday, July 18, 2012, through the remainder of fire season.
The ban applies to debris burning on private, state and federal lands of El Dorado and Placer counties in the Lake Tahoe Basin, according to a news release.
Residential debris burning is already banned within the South Lake Tahoe city limits, and in both the Tahoe Douglas and North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection districts.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for July 5 through July 10.

A Red Flag warning has been issued by the National Weather Service in Reno until 10 p.m. Thursday night for the Lake Tahoe Basin, Eastern Sierra and Western Nevada. Low pressure associated with a jet stream will pass over the Sierra today producing low humidity and gusty winds to 40 mph across Northeast California, the Lake Tahoe Basin and the Eastern Sierra. The combination of law humidity and wind will create critical fire conditions, according to the weather service.

Fire restrictions for the Carson and Bridgeport districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will begin on Monday, June 18. The combination of a particularly dry winter and spring, parched vegetation, lingering drought conditions, increasing daytime temperatures, and recent human-caused fires forced the Forest Service to implement the conditions.

An area of low pressure will push a cold front across northern California and Nevada Friday, producing gusty afternoon and early evening winds. These winds will combine with low relative humidity to create critical fire weather conditions for the Lake Tahoe Basin and Sierra, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.
Southwest winds Friday afternoon will become west Friday evening with sustained speeds of 15 to 30 mph and gusts of 40 to 45 mph.

Low pressure from the Pacific will combine with record high temperatures to produce thunderstorms over Lake Tahoe, the Sierra and Western Nevada, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.
This will result in isolated to scattered thunderstorms developing Friday afternoon and evening. Storms will initially develop over the eastern Sierra, northeast California, Lake Tahoe, Carson City and Reno areas Friday afternoon, then push toward Pyramid Lake and Highway 95 late Friday afternoon into Friday evening.

Update 12:22PM: A small brush fire on Cold Creek Trail in South Lake Tahoe is contained and burned about one-quarter of an acre, reports U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Cheva Heck. Fire personnel from Lake Valley Fire Protection District and South Lake Tahoe and U.S. Forest Service brought the fire to containment. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Heck said. Initial reports that came in said the fire started as a backyard burn pile.

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A low pressure system headed for Lake Tahoe and the Sierra on Friday may turn the early part of Memorial Day weekend into a carbon copy of last year's holiday with some rain and light snow. It would be par for the course given this strange weather year at the lake. The good news though is the unseasonably cool temperatures associated with the weather system should blow out of the area by Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of May 16-22, 2012.

Gusty winds whipped through South Lake Tahoe Thursday afternoon, snapping trees into cars, homes and power lines. No injuries were reported.
The driver of a Subaru escaped injury after a tree slammed into her car as she was driving on Highway 50 near Sawmill Road at about 3 p.m.
The driver told authorities that she saw a large tree begin to fall but could not veer from the wesbound lane to the eastbound lane or else she would hit oncoming traffic. Damage to her car included a shattered windshield and smashed hood.

Here is the fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California, Lake Tahoe and the Sierra. This report is for the week of April 18-25. The opening day for all California fishing is on April 28.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California, Lake Tahoe, the Sierra and Southern Oregon. This report is for the week of April 11-17, 2012.

A strong cold front will move through the region Saturday afternoon bringing high winds to the Sierra and Lake Tahoe region and up to 18 inches of snow in the higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service in Reno. A High Wind Warning is in effect across the Sierra and Western Nevada from Friday night through Saturday. Wind gusts are expected to reach 60 mph through most valleys and up to 70 mph in wind prone areas with gusts over 100 mph across Sierra ridges.

Strong winds aloft ahead of the trough will lead to gusty winds on Saturday with gusts up to 45 mph in valleys and 80 to 90 mph across Sierra ridges. Snow showers for Lake Tahoe are expected to follow, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.
There's a 20 percent chance of snow showers on Saturday with mostly cloudy conditions. The high temperature is expected to be near 46. Less than an inch of snow is possible.

Make no mistake about it, "John Carter," a movie playing now at the Horizon Stadium Cinemas at Stateline, Lake Tahoe, is a multi-million-budgeted film that takes itself seriously, although audiences may not. It's ripped from the pages of a 1912 newspaper series by Edgar Rice Burroughs of "Tarzan fame" (newspapers ran fun things like that in better times).

High pressure will continue to build over the region, with sunny skies and warm temperatures in the Lake Tahoe Basin today and Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Reno. A strong cold front will move quickly across the region Tuesday, dropping temperatures up to 25 degrees compared to Monday. Winds will increase late Monday and Tuesday with gusts 40-55 mph in lower elevations, and ridge gusts in the Sierra exceeding 100 mph.

With a much stronger storm system approaching tonight, expect slick roads with freezing fog this morning for the Lake Tahoe Basin and down into the valleys, according to the National Weather Service.
Chains and snow tires are required along mountain roads throughout the basin and over mountain passes.