Smoke

When Sen. Dean Heller, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and California Gov. Jerry Brown all met up on the shores of Lake Tahoe for their annual Tahoe Summit, attention started with protecting the deep, blue waters of the pristine lake. But this year, attention turned quickly to wildfire.

“Lake Tahoe isn’t going to be blue if the forests are gone,” Graham Kent, director of the University of Nevada, Reno’s Nevada Seismological Laboratory, said. “You actually want to keep the Lake Tahoe Basin green — and protected from wildfires.”

Smoke from a number of large wildfires in Northern California is drifting into the Reno-Carson-Lake Tahoe area.

The Air Quality Index is currently rated at Orange, or Unhealthly for Sensitive Groups, according to AirNow.gov. People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion. Parts of the Truckee Meadows are currently rated at Red, or Unhealthy, and is recommended that everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion while outside.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of Aug. 19, 2015 and beyond. Nevada Department of Wildlife fishing reports for Western Nevada waters are not included as their most current reports are dated June 04.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of Aug. 12, 2015 and beyond. Nevada Department of Wildlife fishing reports for Western Nevada waters are not included as their most current reports are dated June 4.

UPDATE 850AM: The Central Lyon County Fire Protection District reports the tire fire off Orange Street in east Sliver Springs has been contained and extinguished.

The Fire District estimates that firefighters will be on scene mopping up the fire until around noon today, and then the fire will be in patrol status for 24 hours, said Rob Loveberg, Lyon County community development director and emergency management coordinator.

Thick smoke has moved into the Carson City, Carson Valley areas this afternoon. There is no single fire contributing to this, rather many large wildfires and wildfire complexes in northern California, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

The map showing the ongoing fires is courtesy of CalFire. The air quality is now moderate (yellow shading in the image courtesy of Airnow.gov) and those with smoke sensitivities should try to limit prolonged outdoor exertion.

I admit to spending a considerable amount of time each day on the Internet, while browsing at a number of my favorite websites. The browsing is very informative and believe it or not, I do learn something new every day by visiting those websites.

A 29-year-old Carson City man was arrested Thursday in the 3400 block of Airport Road on a felony home invasion charge, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

Carson City Sheriff's deputies arrested two South Lake Tahoe men Tuesday night after one of them allegedly dropped a wallet on the floor of a casino that contained methamphetamine.

According the the arrest report, security at a casino in the 3800 block of South Carson Street contacted dispatch about finding a lost wallet. The responding deputy opened the wallet and found a piece of folded up paper containing what he suspected was methamphetamine.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of July 29, 2015 and beyond. Nevada Department of Wildlife fishing reports for Western Nevada waters are not included as their most current reports are from early June.

Smoke from the Lowell Fire and Willow Fire will continue to impact Northern California and western Nevada through early Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Reno. West winds will transition to northeast winds on Monday afternoon, allowing for areas of dense smoke to push west of the Sierra crest.

11:15AM: Highway 50 is fully opened as more progress is made on the Kyburz Fire. Officials have changed the number of acres burned to 98 acres and the fire is now 80 percent contained. The size change due to more accurate mapping from the infrared flight.
The road is open but motorists need to watch out for firefighting equipment and crews still in the area.
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UPDATE 10AM: CalFire has downgraded the number of acres burned in the Lowell Fire to 1,500 acres. It is 5 percent contained as of Sunday morning. Smoke from the fire has begun move into the Carson City area. Firefighters are also battling the Willow Fire in Madera County south of Bass Lake that also started Saturday. It has grown to more than 1,100 acres as of Sunday morning, closing roads and prompting mandatory evacuations as fire crews worked to protect threatened structures.

Recently, I saw a woman in a bucket on a crane attached to a truck spraying her elm trees. She wore no protective gear while spraying. A man, also without protective gear, stood just below her. Since he was looking up as she sprayed insecticide over his head, drift rained down onto his face and into his eyes.

A 39-year-old man was jailed Tuesday on multiple drug charges including trafficking and sales after 25.3 grams of methamphetamine and 44 grams of marijuana were found in his vehicle, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

Christoper Lawrence Bliven of Reno was arrested in the 4300 block of Apollo Drive. He was charged with drug sales, drug trafficking 14-28 ounces, and drug possession, all felonies, and misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail has been set at $64,785.

UPDATE: A report at 4:33 p.m. from Carson City Fire department is that a single tree was smoking, presumably from a lightning strike, and that it doesn't appear to be spreading.
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UPDATE 4:22PM: According to Carson City dispatch the fire started by a lightning strike around the Prison Hill area. It is not spreading and local resources have been assigned to it.
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A brush fire was reported this afternoon near the Nevada National Guard complex, in the 2600 block of Fairview. Carson City fire crews are responding.

A fire-spotting camera network operated by the University of Nevada, Reno is tracking the Washington Fire south of Lake Tahoe with two of its mountaintop cameras. The first wisps of smoke from the fire were seen on the cameras at 3:50 p.m. on Friday, June 19, one hour before the smoke was reported to fire officials.

GARDNERVILLE, Nev. — UPDATE 7:30 a.m., Thursday: Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch reports firefighters made progress for the second consecutive day Wednesday on the 17,205-acre Washington Fire eight miles south of Markleeville, Calif.

Firefighters upped the containment of the fire to 10 percent on the sixth day of suppression efforts. The primary tactical priority continues to be preventing the fire from reaching Markleeville. The next priorities are to contain the fire in the Wolf Creek and Monitor Pass areas.

Carson City Health and Human Services has been receiving several calls about the impact of the smoke from the Washington Fire in Alpine County, Calif. Smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials.

GARDNERVILLE, Nev. — UPDATE 6:30 a.m.: Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch reports firefighters made progress Tuesday on the 16,553-acre Washington Fire eight miles south of Markleeville, Calif. Lighter winds and conditions more conducive to aggressive ground and air suppression helped crews contain five percent of the fire by the end of the day.

UPDATE 10AM TUESDAY: Washington Fire swells to 16,544 acres. Crews are working to construct a containment line south of Highway 89 and north of Highway 4 to prevent the fire from spreading toward Markleeville. Smoke continues to waft into Carson Valley and Carson City.
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GARDNERVILLE, Nev. — UPDATE 5 a.m., Tuesday, June 23: Smoke from the Washington Fire in Alpine County drifted over Carson Valley early Tuesday morning, plunging air quality into the “very unhealthy” range, according to the Nevada Division of Environmental protection.

UPDATE: Washington Fire near Markleeville in Alpine County, Calif., grows to nearly 15,000 acres, zero percent containment. Go here for updated story.
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GARDNERVILLE, Nev. — Monday, June 22: The lightning-caused Washington Fire in Alpine County south of Markleeville grew to more than 8,000 acres as it moved through to the north side of Highway 89 and into Bagley Valley Sunday.

Crews managed to contain an estimated 10 percent of the perimeter of the fire by Monday morning.
The extreme fire activity being witnessed with the Washington Fire is primarily due to strong erratic winds and severe drought conditions. These two variables also played a role in firefighting efforts for both air and ground support yesterday.

A Dense Smoke Advisory until 5 a.m. Monday morning has been issued by the National Weather Service due to smoke from the Washington Fire burning south of Markleeville in Alpine County, Calif. As of 4:30 Sunday afternoon the fire had burned 6,500 acres.

A 53-year-old Carson City man was arrested Saturday on a felony charge of battery with a deadly weapon after allegedly ramming another vehicle during a road rage incident, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

GARDNERVILLE, Nev. — The Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch reports a 75-acre wildfire, dubbed the Washington Fire, is burning near Silver Peak in Alpine County, pushing up a large plume of smoke visible from Carson Valley south of the Gardnerville Ranchos.

The Carson Cigar Co. is proud to welcome the legendary Trey Stone to their recently expanded lounge 9pm on Saturday, June 13. Every Saturday, the ‘Cigar Bar’ brings musical talent to downtown and serves up the unique cocktails that make them a local hot spot. Whether it’s a signature martini, a 20 year port, a bottle of beer, or straight scotch, they have something for all comers.

"Republicans own the education issue in Nevada right now. Let's cash in on that ownership!"
-Pat Hickey on Ralston Live, June 3, 2015

Pat Hickey always begins his blog entries with a quote that resonates with the theme, and I've learned from the master. I've become one of Pat's fans, both because he talks more like a human being than a politician (e.g. calling KOH's Dan Mason's Show "right wing" before pretending to correct himself), and because he has an extremely wry sense of humor.

A 19 year-old Carson City man, Alejandro Rios-Geurrero was arrested Saturday at 5:12 p.m. in the 2100 block of Highway 50 East on suspicion of two felony counts of burglary.

Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, and it is ranked among the top three health issues in Northern Nevada according to the latest community health needs assessments. As the number of individuals suffering with lung disease continues to escalate, the challenges of early diagnosis and treatment are more critical than ever before.

Carson City firefighters were called at around 12:40 p.m. Monday to a structure fire in the 2700 block of Lockheed Way. First responders report the roof of a building was emitting a large amount of smoke and a kiln was on fire.

Lockheed Way is in an industrial park area. Firefighters on scene report the building was evacuated and that the kiln was shut down to stop any flames.