Highway 50 in Douglas County at the lake is closed. Photo/LTN

Updated 7:10pm

By Kathryn Reed

Access to Carson City from the South Shore via Spooner Summit is off-limits for an indeterminate amount of time because boulders keep falling onto Highway 50.

Wednesday marked the third consecutive day boulders as large as a vehicle have come loose from the hillside.

Nevada Department of Transportation officials are worried about yet another boulder that looks like it could shake loose at any moment. It is more round and therefore could roll easier.

“We don’t want it to roll onto traffic or the houses below,” Meg Ragonese with NDOT told Lake Tahoe News.

Crews will not be able to stabilize the hillside until it dries out a bit. Rain is in the forecast through Friday. The other option to try is to dislodge the rock before Mother Nature does.

A concrete barrier has been placed in the Logan Creek Drive area to help prevent more rocks from reaching the road.

With safety being NDOT’s priority, though, no vehicles are getting from the South Shore to Carson City for the foreseeable future.

Tahoe storm issues:
• Highway 50 between Meyers and Placerville has issues with mudslides; traffic controls are in place
• In South Lake Tahoe: Bill Avenue, Shirley Avenue and Bijou Creek are currently closed due to flooding. Lake Tahoe Boulevard between Glorene and Viking Way have been reduced to one travel lane due to flooding.
• Snow has taken out part of the roof at the California Highway Patrol office in Meyers. The parking lot looks more like a pond.
• Caltrans says Highway 89 around Emerald Bay will remain closed through these storms because of instability in the slide are.
• An avalanche on Feb. 7 near Stanford Sierra Camp at Fallen Leaf Lake took out the power for a few hours, but did not damage any buildings.
•  Lake Tahoe Boulevard at Sawmill Road is closed.                 • For current highway information, click on the state icons on the home page of Lake Tahoe News.

A flood watch is in effect for the Lake Tahoe Basin from 10am Feb. 9 to 4am Feb. 10.

From the National Weather Service in Reno, “Occasional light rain will continue today with streams running high. Another period of heavy rain is expected Thursday afternoon and Thursday night with even higher flows and more flooding possible. Areas where snow has clogged drainage paths may remain flooded for longer periods of time. Rock and mudslides may also impact travel.”

Douglas County is urging residents to prepare for flooding and high winds. Residents can expect intermittent road closures due to flooding. Douglas County has sandbags available at nine locations, including Zephyr Cove Park.

Truckee residents near the southwest corner of the Donner Lake area along the streets of Washoe Circle, Conifer Drive, and parts of South Shore Drive in the known avalanche areas are advised the potential avalanche danger in these areas is currently high and this danger is likely to persist for several days.

Widespread flooding in Truckee is not expected to occur with this storm, however minor flooding along drainage ditches and small streams is possible. 

Homewood Mountain Resort issued this statement, “Due to inclement weather we will be suspending operations for the 8th.” Limited trails are open at Tahoe Donner Cross Country. Check with the ski resort before going because the weather is likely to impact operations at all of them.

There is one-way traffic control on Highway 50 at the Silverfork Cafe area in El Dorado County due to drain clearing work. Caltrans has not estimate when it will be cleared.

Current highway conditions are available by clicking on the state icons on the home page of Lake Tahoe News.

The sun should come out again on Saturday.