Snow in Forecast

residential guide for Tahomans 2015

      Tahoma residents will see some of the white stuff falling tomorrow: not much, but the real thing.  NOAA says maybe 1-3" over 24 hours, hardly enough to get excited about and hardly enough to warrant snow plows and sand trucks.   But, it serves to place the basin on notice that winter is almost here.   Today is the first day of the seasonal return to Pacific Coast Time from daylight savings time.  Fall-Back.
      It will be darker earlier tonight, so find a comfortable spot to watch a great NFL matchup  of undefeated 7-0 teams: Green Bay v. Denver, Aaron Rodgers v. Payton Manning.  Should be worth the effort.
    Getting back to the long range forecast, the outlook is dry and cool for the next 15 days.  This is typical autumn weather in these parts and can be accompanied by chilling winds.   Things can change suddenly; plan accordingly.

    Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Guide
     Have you received your homeowners' guidebook for emergency planning?   Get right down to your PO Box and pick it up.  It's free, courtesy of Cal Fire, the large Sacramento-based tax eating machine that lives on the blood of local tax payers.  I say this because Tahoma residents are taxed an extra $150/ year to fund fire prevention efforts across the entire state in addition to taxes sent to North Tahoe Fire and Meeks Bay Fire Dist.   It's all a bit ridiculous.   Just look at the information: packaged in a vinyl bag, it touts in bold graphics that all outdoor fires are prohibited during fire season.
      As one unfolds the contents, one sees a map with evacuation routes along Highway 89 and Highway 28.  If you reside in Homewood, you can go either north to I -80 or south to Hwy 50.  In addition, as one continues to unfold the insert, basic information is laid out describing what is recommended in case of: 1) avalanche, 2) flooding, 3) tsunami, 4) earthquake, 5) wildfire.
     For Tahomans, the wildfire presents the most serious threat.  Surrounded by national forest and left with 1 highway escape route, timely warnings are the key to a safe exit.  However, very little information is given in the brochure.   The suggestions include levels of evacuation orders: voluntary, and mandatory.  Also the words precautionary and immediate threat may be used locally.  Needless to say, from experience recently near Markleeville, residents are reluctant to leave.
     So, how much did the brochure cost us?   Good luck finding the answer to that one.  Keep it handy for your AirBnB guests who don't know 80 from 50 or north from south.  It might come in handy during a seiche(pronounced say-'sh).
More later