March 15, 2023 Cal Fire and various other agencies are inspecting structures after record snowfall in South Lake Tahoe has damaged at least 86 buildings.
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Unrelenting winter storms have damaged dozens of homes and businesses in the greater South Lake Tahoe area since late last week, fire officials said Tuesday morning, as more rain and snow are forecast to fall through midweek in the mountains.
Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado unit in an incident report Tuesday morning said 230 personnel across more than a dozen cooperating agencies are working to inspect buildings for damage and provide assistance amid “extreme” winter storms, which have dumped feet of snow across the central Sierra Nevada range since late February.
Crews have inspected at least 129 structures since last Thursday and found damage in 86 of them, exactly two-thirds, Cal Fire said.
Of the 86 with damage, nine structures were red-tagged, meaning they were deemed unsafe to occupy until substantial repair work can be completed.
No civilian or firefighter injuries had been reported in the past week’s storms as of Tuesday morning, according to Cal Fire.
South Lake Tahoe city officials in social media posts beginning late last week said both Raley’s supermarket locations are temporarily closed. Part of the roof collapsed Saturday morning at the Raley’s store in the Crescent V shopping center; and the store near the “Y” intersection connecting Highway 50 with Highway 89 was closed Sunday as a precaution.
The city’s T.J. Maxx store, on Lake Tahoe Boulevard, was forced to close “due to structural issues,” the city wrote Monday evening.
At the area’s ski resorts, the storm forced ski resorts to put wind holds on chair lifts, close trails and in some cases shut down.
Palisades Tahoe closed Tuesday with over 100 mph winds projected along ridge lines. The ski resort shared video with The Sacramento Bee showing the windy and snowy conditions at the top of the mountain.
South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue in Facebook posts also reported roof collapses, including at a gas station, an apartment building and mobile homes.
All Lake Tahoe Unified School District campuses were open Tuesday. In an email Monday morning, district officials assured families that crews are inspecting and “continually assessing” building safety.
“We would not put our students in buildings that are unsafe,” district administrators wrote.
The city of South Lake Tahoe proclaimed a local emergency last Wednesday in response to the severe winter weather.
National Weather Service forecasts showed up to three-quarters of an inch of rain during the day could be followed by 2 to 4 inches of snow Tuesday evening near the city, with gusts from 40 mph to 50 mph possible all day.
Officials on Tuesday morning warned residents of localized flooding throughout South Lake Tahoe.
Gas leak forces evacuation at Incline High School
On the north side of Lake Tahoe, the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District said it responded along with Washoe County sheriff’s deputies to Incline High School in Incline Village, Nevada, around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday after students reportedly smelled natural gas.
No gas was located inside the school, but “high levels of gas were detected in multiple locations in the snow on the roof,” the fire district wrote in a news release.
The high school was evacuated as firefighters responded. Because crews were not able to determine the origin of the leak due to heavy snow, the school was deemed unsafe to occupy and remained closed, authorities wrote.
The North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District in a statement last week said it has recorded an “alarming” increase in gas leaks and carbon monoxide-related emergencies.
“Many of these incidents are the result of heavy snow build-up on combustion-appliance venting, buried foundation vents and improper or snow-obstructed home generator ventilation systems,” the district wrote.
Gas leaks can also result from snow removal efforts that inadvertently break gas lines, officials wrote.