The California Tahoe Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations next week if conditions are favorable. Operations may take place near South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Paradise and Meyers. 

To view a map with project locations and details, go online.  

Before prescribed fire operations are conducted, agencies post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, send email notifications and update the local fire information line at 530.543.2816. 

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a flash flood watch for the Lake Tahoe Basin, Truckee, Carson City, Minden and the foothills west of Reno from 4am-10pm Saturday.

An atmospheric river will bring a burst of heavy precipitation across the region. Snow levels will be at about 8,000 feet.

Forecasters say the Truckee River along Highway 89 could flood by late morning Dec. 10. Traffic in that area and over mountain passes will be impacted by the heavy moisture.

“Sierra locations can expect about 1 to 4 inches of liquid equivalent while the Sierra Front could see 0.25 to 1 inch, and 0.1 to 0.5 in the basin and range,” according to the NWS. 

The greatest threat for flooding is near creeks and streams, with mudslides possible on burn scars.

Rain and snow are in the forecast for much of next week.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Janie McCauley, AP

At the family home in South Lake Tahoe, Carol Haase sent her husband out to the shed to search for just the right pieces of wood.

The creative mother of five had begun planning yet another important project in a long list of them for her kids. Son Jerod Haase, in his first season as Stanford men’s basketball coach, had commissioned her to create a pair of wood-burning art pieces — including one for outside the Cardinal locker room at Maples Pavilion.

Jerod Haase, with mom Carol, still relies on her. Photo/Provided

He requested three words: Invested. Tough. Selfless.

And he asked for another piece to hang in his office with a space for former players to sign it when they return to visit campus.

After coaching stops at alma mater Kansas, North Carolina and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Haase is ready to put down roots on The Farm. He hopes to build a program that, eventually, contends year in and year out again like it did for decades before.

For him, that starts by thoughtfully incorporating the program’s past success while imparting his own philosophies on a new team.

“I’ve come to really believe in culture,” Haase said. “When I first became a head coach, we had a lot of conversations on the staff, ‘Is culture a real thing?’ or ‘How important is it?’ After my second year at UAB, I really jumped all in. The idea of, we have to develop a culture and know who we are because if we want to get to a certain spot and a certain level of success, there have to be some foundational pieces that we have.

“Our core values at UAB were different than they are here. When I got here, I knew they would be different. Stanford is a different place, this is going to be a different team. We’re going to have a different vision for our program.”

Those three words — invested, tough and selfless — are ones Haase hopes define Stanford for years to come.

“It took him a long time to pick the words,” said Carol, a former elementary and middle school art and English teacher who still fires clay work in her kiln.

The Cardinal, picked to place 10th in the Pac-12, are off to a 6-3 start and currently on their December break for final exams. Players are greeted by the reminder of the team’s philosophy with the wood burning every time they open the locker room door.

“That’s something we’re trying to do for life,” senior guard Marcus Allen said.

Haase is trying to move the program forward while leaning on its history. Former Stanford star Casey Jacobsen is a part-time practice player, and Haase has spoken a handful of times with Golden State Warriors assistant coach and former Cardinal center Jarron Collins since taking over in March. Collins hopes his demanding NBA schedule permits him to get to a practice one day soon.

“He sent out emails. He does a really good job of reaching out,” Collins said. “They sent out all their literature and bios on the coaches. They’ve set up an email service. He seems fiery, and that’s important. I’m excited for his start, and I hope he does well.”

Haase spoke to more than two dozen former players and successful longtime ex-Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. There was also input sought from current players, and even former coach Johnny Dawkins when they ran into each other on the recruiting trail.

The basketball has come along nicely, though Haase said it would be “baby steps” at first. Even with 10 of the top scorers returning , building cohesion was among Haase’s first priorities. Of course, Stanford had a strong opportunity to bond during a season-opening trip last month to Shanghai, where it beat Harvard. The Cardinal also went through a Navy Seals training course.

Haase took about four months choosing those three key words, saying, “I have pages and pages of notes of getting thoughts from everyone about what they think the program is, what it needs to be if we’re going to be successful, what is important.”

“If I’m lucky enough to be the coach here for 25 years, our core values, I would be shocked if they changed,” he said.

Haase is settling in at the university he once thought he’d attend . He walks his kids to school most days before strolling to his office. He continues to appreciate what Stanford offers, thrilled to have the full support of Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer and Rose Bowl-winning football coach David Shaw.

All that effort has helped Haase quickly establish trust with his players.

“He knows what he wants,” Allen said. “He leads by example. Coach Haase brings a level of energy and just a level of being very personable, almost like he’s a player. He’s right there, he’s right in your ear telling you things.”

By Brad Rassler, Outside

Outdoor recreation is an economic colossus: its reach is massive, its wealth enormous, and its influence continues to grow as more boots hit the ground. You can see it in Joshua Tree’s crowded campgrounds or in Mount Tam’s trailhead parking lots; in the Appalachian Trail’s thru-hiking numbers or in REI’s record sales. 

In 2005, the Outdoor Industry Foundation commissioned the first of the economic studies to measure the industry’s heft. The initial report returned impressive statistics, but it was the follow-up study six years later that stirred the giant from its slumber: the outdoor recreation economy, all $646 billion of it, was nearly as much as Americans paid for pharmaceuticals and motor vehicle sales and parts, combined. 

Now, thanks to the passage of a bipartisan bill that sailed through the House and Senate last month, and was signed into law by President Obama on Dec. 8, the outdoor industry is primed for a gargantuan reveal. The Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act of 2016, or REC Act, authorizes the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis to assess outdoor recreation’s contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product, or GDP. 

Read the whole story

By Brian K. Sullivan, Bloomberg
 
A La Nina that threatens to push cold temperatures across the northern U.S. and extend drought conditions in the south will probably remain in the Pacific deep into the winter, fading away by spring, according to U.S. forecasters.
 
The weather phenomenon — defined by a cooling of the equatorial Pacific Ocean’s surface that touches off a change in atmosphere patterns — will probably bring colder and wetter conditions to the northern stretches of the U.S. and warmer, drier conditions to the south, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said in a report Thursday.

The consensus from U.S. forecasters “favors the continuation of weak La Nina conditions through” February, the center’s report shows.

Read the whole story

The Nevada Division of State Parks administers grant funds from the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program (RTP). Approximately $1.2 million in funding is available for the 2017 fiscal year.

Applications are due by Feb. 3 and are available online.

The program funds motorized and non-motorized recreational trail projects for federal, state, and local governments, American tribes, special government districts and private individuals and organizations.

For further information or questions, contact Janice Keillor at 775.684.2787 or jkeillor@parks.nv.gov.

South Lake Tahoe has issued the following safety tips and information regarding snow removal safety:

• City snow plows are deployed when an average of 3 inches of snow have accumulated on the ground citywide.
• Snowplows have the right of way on streets and vehicles left unattended in the streets are subject to citation and/or tow. The city right-of-way extends beyond the edge of the pavement to the property line, generally 5 to 10 feet beyond the edge of the pavement.
• The primary purpose of snow removal is to clear snow from streets for emergency vehicles, school buses, hospital entry, refuse trucks and all vehicle traffic.
• Keep all trash containers behind the berm, on your property. Improper placement of trash containers can result in damaged containers and/or snow removal equipment. 
• When shoveling snow from your driveway, shovel to the right as you face the street. This way, the plow will move the snow further down the road, rather than move the shoveled snow back into your driveway.
• Keep children indoors while snow removal operations are under way.
• Don’t watch snow removal operations from the edge of the road. Keep a safe distance (40 feet) when driving/standing behind snow removal equipment.
• The maximum speed when chain controls are in effect is 25 mph.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Tuesday released a conservation plan for gray wolves in the state.

The plan was created over the last two years with input form a varied group of stakeholders.

“Wolves returning to the state was inevitable, we always knew that,” CDFW Director Charlton Bonham said in a statement. “Over the past few years we have seen wolves re-establish themselves. It’s an exciting ecological story, and this plan represents the path forward to manage wolves in a state with nearly 40 million people.”

This plan addresses conflicts with livestock and the maintenance of adequate prey sources for wolves, other predators, and public use. 

By Brad Stulberg, Outside

Although it may seem counterintuitive, you don’t get faster, bigger, or stronger during a workout. The main function of hard physical training is to break your body down so it can grow back stronger.

Fitness gains come later, during recovery, and recent research is revealing that simply being sedentary post-workout isn’t enough: in order to maximize recovery, you must also relax your mind. 

“More and more evidence suggests that stress is stress,” says John Kiely, senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire’s Institute for Coaching and Performance. “If you finish a workout and throw yourself into something that is mentally or emotionally taxing, even if you are seated with your feet up, odds are that you’ll still obstruct the recovery and adaptation process.” 

Read the whole story

Tommy Caldwell, rock climber of international fame, will present his show “A Year of Firsts: An Enchainment of Patagonia’s Fitzroy Massif, Yosemite’s Dawn Wall and an Infant Son” on Jan. 5 at Squaw Valley’s Olympic Village Lodge.

This is the third installment of Alpenglow Sports’ 11th annual Winter Film Series.

Throughout 2014 and into early 2015, the entire world watched, enthralled as Caldwell completed never-before rock climbing and mountaineering feats of staggering physical endurance. His feats brought climbing out of the periphery and into the mainstream as major national news organizations followed him throughout the journey.

The nonprofit beneficiary for the evening is Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue.

Come early for drink specials and good seating. The show begins at 7pm. Doors open at 6:15pm.