The July 28, 2021, R-C Morning Report

Genoa, Nev. — Blue sky showed up for the first time in weeks on Tuesday afternoon, which is borne out by the air quality this morning which is just a smidge away from good in the moderate range as the Tamarack Fire stopped pumping smoke into the atmosphere.

There’re still lots of big fires burning in California generating plenty of smoke, and when those are out, it’s likely there will be more to replace them.

The prospect of being outside in the smoke prompted Sierra Chef to cancel today’s Main St. Farmers Market, according to the Facebook page. I’m sure they looked at the sky on Tuesday afternoon and were kicking themselves, but it wasn’t a bad call when it was made on Tuesday morning.

NV Energy estimating power will be restored to 124 homes and businesses along the Highway 395 corridor around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Power lines and poles are being replaced there, so the delays shouldn’t be a surprise. The Tamarack Fire knocked the power out 5 p.m. July 21.

Highways 4 and 89 will be reopened to through traffic only this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. That region and near Burnside Lake are the last affected by the evacuation order.

The emergency shelter at the Douglas County Community and Senior Center has closed so any events scheduled there should be back on schedule.

Thunderstorms are back in the forecast, but not as likely as earlier reported. Monday saw a third of an inch of rain in Minden, which helped clear the air and set a new record rainfall total. It also saw the warmest low temperature on record with 63 degrees.

Today’s forecast calls for scattered showers and thunderstorms mainly after 3 p.m. with mostly sunny skies and a high near 91 degrees. The wind will pick up out of the southwest at 15-20 mph, gusting to 30 mph.

Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Reach him at khildebrand@recordcourier.com