Lake Tahoe: Avalanche closes highway; over 8 feet of snow falls in 5 days
TRUCKEE, Calif. — All Tahoe-Truckee schools are closed Monday as the region digs out from the latest storm that dumped several feet of snow across the region.
The Tahoe Truckee Unified School District announced early Monday morning that schools would be canceled today; in Incline Village, the Washoe County School District announced Sunday that its Tahoe schools would be closed.
Early Monday morning, the Washoe district announced all other schools were done for the day as well due to several inches of snowfall fell in the city of Reno into the evening Sunday.
Meanwhile, Highway 89 remains closed last of 7:30 a.m. due to an avalanche.
Authorities closed the highway at about 1 a.m. Monday between Alpine Meadows and Tahoe City after an avalanche spilled over the road and caught two cars in its path.
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According to the California Highway Patrol, no one was hurt in the incident, and everyone got out the cars safe.
“The slide was 200 feet across and 12 feet high at its termination point,” CHP-Truckee officials reported on the agency’s Facebook page.
Several avalanches have been reported the past couple days in the region’s backcountry, including near Watson Lake, Deep Creek, Negro Canyon and in the Third Creek drainage area in Incline Village according to the Sierra Avalanche Center.
No injuries or other major incidents have been reported.
Meanwhile, Interstate 80 and other regional highways are open as of 7:30 a.m. Monday to traffic, although maximum chain and snow tire controls are in effect throughout the region.
According to the National Weather Service in Reno, this most recent winter storm is expected to taper off Monday. While snow showers are likely into the afternoon, only an inch or so of snow is expected at lake level.
Several power outages were reported intermittently this weekend, including a larger rash that occurred at about 8:30 p.m .Sunday night across several areas in Truckee; most areas were restored within a couple hours.