PaperSac

Here are some excerpts of 911 calls to the California Highway Patrol’s Truckee office June 24, as the Angora fire began to burn near South Lake Tahoe. The first call was at 2:02 p.m.2:02 p.m.

Dispatcher: 911.

Male: Yeah — uh — I’m on the golf course. It’s — uh — Lake Tahoe Country Club, and we can see smoke coming off the mountain to the west of us.

Dispatcher: Uh-huh.

Male: Slide Pole Peak?

Dispatcher: Yeah. Yeah, they’re doing a control cq burn there.

Male: OK.

Dispatcher: OK.

Male: Thank you. Sorry to bother you.

2:11 p.m.

(more…)

Charles Barkley treated about 100 Lake Tahoe-area firefighters to dinner after touring the devastation of a nearby wildfire that destroyed 254 homes last month. Barkley has pledged $25,000 to the Lake Tahoe fire relief fund. To donate, go to helptahoe.com.

 “If we stay over there at the golf and casino, were not going to think anything is going on here,” Barkley said. “Thats why I wanted to come here with a camera. When you live in different parts of the country and they show you two houses burned down, you don’t get the full effect.”

The Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce has details on how to help victims of the Angora Fire:

 “The Locals for Locals Angora Fire Fund was set up immediately to assist those impacted by the fire. Donors can go to US Bank or mail their donation to Locals for Locals Angora Fire Fund at PO Box 17640, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151. This fund is unrelated to Chamber finances and a separate board of local community leaders will coordinate distribution of these funds with a focus on helping people fill in needs not met by immediate disaster relief agency funds with all monies staying local.

The Red Cross has indicated that there are already more than sufficient donations of food, toiletries, and clothing at the various locations which were set up as drop spots. If you know of someone in need of these sorts of items please direct them to one of the locations listed on the website with the Sierra Recovery Center at 1137 Emerald Bay Road being the central location. 

Businesses wanting to do a percentage of their sales donation can contact Jana Ney Walker at 530.544.6119 to participate in the Tahoe Businesses Who Care Program.”

photo credit: Rickc (via flickr)