Douglas Tigers JV Football team celebrate their win over Galena after the game was called due to smoke on Thursday. Photo special to The R-C by John Cocores.
Genoa, Nev. — If freezing cold is Lancer weather, maybe smoke is Tiger weather. The Douglas JV team defeated Galena 17-0 on Thursday after the game was called during the second quarter due to smoke.
What impact the smoke will have on tonight’s Homecoming Game against Galena is entirely in the wind. Guidance from the state is that officials will have to make a decision when the air quality index hits 151-200 and postpone the game if it’s 201 or worse. Otherwise, kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Keith Roman Field.
After several days of being held at bay, the smoke started to seep into the Valley on Thursday evening. While not as bad as Monday, gauges in Johnson Lane are reading hazardous, while further south in the Gardnerville Ranchos it’s just unhealthy for sensitive groups.
The source of most of our smoke, the Mosquito Fire, continues to burn into the Sierra with satellite mapping indicating active burning over the last three hours. The same mapping indicates the fire has grown to 75,000 acres as it advances about a half-mile a day. It is about 21 miles from Homewood at Lake Tahoe.
Douglas County commissioners asked for more information before they approve an agreement between Douglas County and the Tahoe Douglas Visitor’s Authority to partially fund a micro-transit system at Lake Tahoe. Commissioners approved having staff work on an ordinance requiring septic tanks on parcels 2-acres or smaller.
A loud “Ein Bier, bitte!” might just rise above the sound of oompa music at Heritage Park as Sertoma celebrates Oktoberfest 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in Gardnerville. The return of the Douglas County Public Library Used Book Sale to the CVIC Hall is Saturday and Sunday. You can find out more by picking up a copy of The R-C and checking the calendar.
Forecasters say the wind patterns aren’t expected to change from Thursday, which means we’ll see visibility improve around lunch before the next wave of smoke arrives this afternoon and evening.
Something else in the wind is the possibility of rain and high elevation snow arriving Sunday and into Monday as fall finally arrives.
There’s an hour today from 2-3 p.m. where the smoke is forecast to give way to haze. Otherwise, expect a high temperature of around 80 degrees with the wind out of the south at 10-15 mph this afternoon.
Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Reach him at khildebrand@recordcourier.com or 775-782-5122.
