By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

A mother and son from San Francisco died Sunday while skiing to a slope-side condominium at Kirkwood Mountain Resort.

According to the Alpine County Sheriff’s Office, Olga Perkovic, 50, and her son, Aaron Goodstein, 7, died after snow falling from a rooftop buried them.

“It was horrible timing, they were right beneath that one piece of roof and it just unloaded,” said Undersheriff Spencer Case. “A few feet one way or another it could have come out differently.”

Read the whole story

By Ed Fletcher, Sacramento Bee

Despite last week’s heavy snowfall, Tahoe ski resorts know they can’t predict how strong each winter will be.

They suffered through drought years earlier this decade. Out of nowhere last year, Tahoe was deluged with so much precipitation that avalanches were a regular concern.

This season has been subpar, save for the occasional big storm system, including one last week that forced Squaw Valley to close due to an afternoon avalanche that seriously injured one person.

Read the whole story

To the community,

Twenty-thousand festival-goers in town during winter, when we hope to have snow, would be tricky to deal with during a situation where the roads are closed and gas line to town is cut for a week as it was early in 1986. Heat? Food? Sanitation?

How about evacuating those 20,000 to 27,000 people plus the 21,000 residents during a wildfire if there are festivals during other times of year? Since the Santa Rosa fires and Angora/Cascade fires we know our town is dramatically at risk. There will be more illegal camping and camp fires around the college, Bijou Park and off Pioneer Trail with festivals in mid-town during mild weather.    

If the City Council continues support for SnowGlobe and considers three more festivals, I implore them to increase the patrolling of our surrounding meadows and woods. I can leave town during these festivals so the pounding doesn’t really matter to me, but I sure want my home to return to.

The City Council will be discussing the SnowGlobe contract with the possibility of extended it for many more years March 6. The meeting starts at 9am. If you can’t be there, this is their email: citycouncil@cityofslt.us — for comments.

Thank you, 
Diana Hamilton, South Lake Tahoe

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is seeking public comments for the annual California Department of Parks and Recreation, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division grant application.

The OHMVR application requests funding for trail maintenance, and operation of facilities for off-highway vehicle  access in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The comment period begins March 6 and ends April 2.  

When finalized, the grants will be available for public review and comment on the state’s website.

Questions, comments or letters may be directed to Jacob Quinn, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150.

For more information on the application, grant process or how to comment, contact Quinn at 530.543.2609 or  jmquinn@fs.fed.us.

Maddie Bowman is just as comfortable in powder at Sierra-at-Tahoe as she is in a halfpipe. Photo/Brian Walker

By Kathryn Reed

What a difference a week can make.

On Feb. 28 the snow water equivalent near Echo Summit was 1.7 inches, or 7 percent of average, while on March 5 it was 9.4 inches, for 39 percent of normal.

Frank Gehrke took the manual readings at Phillips Station for the Department of Water Resources. It’s unusual to do back-to-back surveys, but officials wanted to record the impact of the storm and note what it would have been like without it.

While the storms in the last week that dropped several feet of snow at lake level and as much as 7 feet higher up were good news for a lot of reasons, the reality is the snowpack is still pretty dismal.

These surveys are taken throughout the Sierra from December-April, when the bulk of the snow falls. They give water regulators an idea of what the runoff will be like in the spring/summer so they can then predict what reservoir storage will be like. That water is then used by various municipalities and farmers in the state.

While skiers prefer the light, powdery snow, it’s the wet, heavy snow that is best for water content.

Skiers flocked to Tahoe resorts last weekend for the deepest snow all winter. With temps staying relatively cool, the fresh snow should provide the needed boost to get through the season. That is assuming future storms are dumping snow on the slopes and not rain.

More snow is on its way to the Tahoe area. A storm is expected to arrive Wednesday night and provide moisture intermittently throughout the weekend.

·       Placer County is canceling the Sustainability Plan public workshop scheduled for March 7 in Kings Beach. The county said, “It has been determined that additional outreach to the North Tahoe Community is necessary before conducting this workshop and so the county will be rescheduling the workshop and will send out notification shortly.”

·       Jeff Dreher, a 23-year veteran of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, is now a chief investigator with the county’s District Attorney’s Office.

·       “Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey” will be screened on March 16 at 6:30pm at Lake Tahoe Community College’s Duke Theatre. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the door. Doors will open at 6pm.

·       Robert Plant and his band the Sensational Space Shifters will be at Harveys on June 23.

·       Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Garden Grove, is having a district conference call on March 7 at 5:30pmto discuss issues pending before Congress. To participate, go online and click on the “Tele-Town Hall: Sign Up Now” link on the right side of the home page, fill out the form, and push send.

El Dorado County on March 5 released the dates for seven ad hoc Cannabis Committee meetings, with the first one being today.

All meetings are from 3-5pm at the Board of Supervisors chambers, 330 Fair Lane in Placerville.

Meetings and topics are:

• March 5 (outdoor/cottage)
• March 12 (indoor/mixed light/cottage)
• March 19 (dispensaries/deliveries/distribution)
• April 23 (microbusiness/nurseries/testing)
• April 30 (manufacturing)
• May 7 (tax rates/funding).

Members of the ad hoc Cannabis Committee are Supervisors Michael Ranalli and Sue Novasel, and El Dorado County staff.

The annual Kings Beach Snowfest Parade will take place March 10 starting at 11:30am.

There will be an announcing stand in front of the King Building on Highway 28 at the Bear Street roundabout.

The parade will take place snow, rain, or shine.

Highway 28 in Kings Beach will be closed between Highway 267 and Fox Street for the parade starting at 11:25am. Detour routes will be available.

Kings Beach businesses within the road closure will maintain normal operating hours.

Highway 28 will re-open as soon as the parade is complete and no later than 12:30pm.

A backcountry skier had to be airlifted from the Incline Lake area on March 4.

The man was located at about 9,000 feet. His injuries have not been released.

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office used its Raven helicopter to take him from the wilderness to Mount Rose Highway where he was then transported by ambulance to the hospital.

Washoe’s search and rescue team along with North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District crews assisted with the rescue.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Selena

Selena is a 3-year-old female Boxer and German shepherd. She is very sweet and good with other dogs, and loves to go for walks. Selena is a beautiful girl who will fit into just about any household.

Selena is spayed, microchipped, tested for heart worm, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter. 

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet. 

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online. 

— Karen Kuentz