Lake Tahoe Goes Under COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order Tonight


Lake Tahoe, a very popular area during the ski season, is partially closing down tonight as the region returns to a stay-at-home order due to the increase of COVID-19 cases.

According to the California Regional Stay Home Order, when one of the five regions designed for the order falls below a 15% I.C.U. availability, the stay-at-home order goes into effect at 11:59 P.M. the following night. That order will then remain in place for a minimum of three weeks, at which time the order will either be lifted if the I.C.U. availability has increased to over 15% or will continue and be assessed on a weekly basis until the 15% threshold is met.

In this instance, the Greater Sacramento region, which includes Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba counties, announced yesterday, December 9th, that I.C.U. availability has fallen below the threshold. Lake Tahoe is in this region.

As we know, the Lake Tahoe area is a snow sports paradise that, like many other snow sports regions across the country, has been preparing and opening for the 2020/2021 skiing and snowboarding season. However, with the new order going into effect, this could be a real blow to the local ski economy.

That being said, the ski resorts are able to stay open. In a report from The Guardian, Chris Fiore, communications manager for the city of South Lake Tahoe, confirmed this. Though, he also made a plea for those that are not from the area to please follow the order and stay home.

“If you are in an area that’s under a stay-at-home order, stay at home,” Fiore told The Guardian. “We want everyone back to Tahoe as soon as it’s safe but everyone realizes we are stronger together, and safer apart right now.

“The bottom line is, personal responsibility matters,” he added. “We all need to do our part, stay home and stay safe over the next three weeks and see if we can get Tahoe back to looking the way it is supposed to in the wintertime.”

One of the more popular skiing and snowboarding destinations at Lake Tahoe, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, took to social media with a statement not only confirming they will be staying open during the order but outlining how some parts of the resort will be affected.


For the time being, those from outside the area are being asked to avoid visiting the Lake Tahoe region. If you were planning to visit the area, please check with local authorities or covid19.ca.gov for details on safe travel in and through the area. Also, check with the resorts if you already had reservations of any type at the mountain. They will be more than happy to help you with any concerns that you might have. 

Photo - Lake Tahoe, CA - Credit: Samir Mahendra from San Francisco, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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