Smoke obscures the Harrah's sign from the MontBleu parking garage on Aug. 26.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
Lake Tahoe’s casinos are aiding the Caldor firefighting effort with the Hard Rock serving as incident command and the other four keeping rooms open for first responders.
All four have closed their gaming operations.
The MontBleu has discounted rooms for evacuees, according to a statement issued by the Nevada Division of Emergency Management on Wednesday.
Nevada emergency managers thanked all five Stateline properties in Stateline.
“We know this is a huge undertaking during a very difficult time in the South Lake Tahoe-Stateline community,” said Emergency Management Program Manager for Preparedness and Response Jon Bakkedahl. “We are so thankful for the community collaboration and resources we’re seeing to fight this fire and keep people safe.”
Bakkedahl also thanked the Nevada Gaming Control Board for facilitating collaboration during the process of temporarily suspending gaming operations, and prioritizing employee safety on behalf of all Stateline gaming properties.
The Caldor Fire’s arrival in the Tahoe Basin prompted the evacuation of South Lake Tahoe and Douglas County’s portion of the basin.
Residents of Foothill Road and west are under an evacuation warning issued on Tuesday.
Alpine County issued a new warning on Wednesday afternoon for residents along Highway 88 to the state line and from Picketts Junction to Forestdale Road near Red Lake.
Evacuees from Alpine and Douglas are being directed to the Douglas County Community & Senior Center.
On Wednesday, Douglas County said it was notified by the Red Cross on Monday that the original group of evacuees from the Caldor Fire would need to be relocated to another shelter to provide space to allow incoming Douglas County evacuees the opportunity to remain in their local community due to mandatory evacuations in the State of Nevada. “Moving displaced evacuees was done out of necessity as shelter needs for people and their pets continues to evolve as the Caldor Fire continues to move into Nevada,” Public Information Officer Melissa Blosser said.
The Douglas County Fairgrounds is actively sheltering small and large animals.
Several Carson Valley churches have volunteered their parking lots to evacuees with recreational vehicles.
High Sierra Fellowship and Carson Valley United Methodist Church in Gardnerville, Carson Valley Bible Church in Minden and Hilltop Community Church in Sunridge are among the churches that have some space available for people to park their RVs.
