Tahoe basin suffering large power outage

Severe winter weather has incurred massive power outages Wednesday morning throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin, with the biggest concentration of blackouts occurring in South Lake Tahoe.

About 10,000 customers are currently without power in the greater South Lake Tahoe area, especially the western portions of town in proximity to Meyers, said Karl Walquist, spokesman for NV Energy, in a Wednesday morning phone interview.

"Trees and tree limbs have fallen on power lines causing outages throughout the area," he said. "For example, a tree limb fell on a line on Tomahawk Lane, causing outages in that neighborhood."

Walquist said extra workers are being dispatched from Reno and Carson City to help repair the downed lines, but declined to speculate as to when power would be restored to residences and businesses. However, he did say "extended outages are rare."

The major outages began before 6 a.m. Wednesday.

"Whenever you have a large winter storm, it will affect a lot of customers," Walquist said.

According to police scanner traffic, as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 29, limbs, tree branches and other debris are continuing to fall on lines and homes, causing sporadic outages and tree fires throughout the city.

While the outages are not as extensive, 3,300 customers between Kings Beach and Tahoe City were without power from approximately 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, including 1,500 customers between Agate Bay and Cedar Flat, Walquist said.

Incline Village/Crystal Bay has not experienced any widespread blackouts, he said.

Again, tree limbs are the principal culprit in the outages; however, Walquist said in some cases if the snow is heavy and wet enough, it could force the line to snap.

Walquist said NV Energy performs routine tree trimming procedures throughout the year, but whenever heavy snow is combined with high-velocity winds, no amount of preparation will fend off materials being blown into lines.