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Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
As the Grizzly Flat Post Office got back to business Wednesday morning, Postmaster Alicia Leech, right, was setting up Grizzly Flat residents with their new P.O. boxes. Resident Don Bishop, left, said, “Where does everyone go? They go to the post office, because you see people at the post office.”
YOU’VE GOT MAIL Staff writer
It has been said many times in various ways by the Grizzly Flat community. “The post office was a place for us to meet our neighbors.” “This was a place to run into people you knew and have a conversation.” Those sentiments have been heard for the past two years, since the Caldor Fire ravaged the small El Dorado County community in 2021. Among the hundreds of structures destroyed, the post office was one of the most talked about for Grizzly Flat folk. Surrounded by the charred aftermath of the devastation that occurred is a new sign of life at 4991 Sciaroni Road. The Grizzly Flat Post Office officially opened for business Wednesday.
Krysten Kellum Editor
Inside the small building U.S. Postal Service employees were seen giving residents keys to their new mailboxes, and giving and receiving mail. Such transactions often stopped as residents saw familiar faces, striking up conversation with each other, painting the image of what has been described. “This is what happens,” said Grizzly Flat resident Don Bishop. “You show up here, you see your
Looking for answers as to how a snowboarder was left inside a gondola the night of Jan. 25, Heavenly Mountain Resort management found a “breakdown in protocols.” Monica Laso, a Chilean woman on vacation with a group of friends, spent the day snowboarding at the South Lake Tahoe ski resort. She reportedly became exhausted and took a gondola bound for Heavenly Village, where she thought she would meet back up with her friends. Laso reportedly boarded the gondola between 3:50 and 4:10 p.m., around the time lifts stop spinning for the day. Heavenly Chief Operating Officer Tom Fortune on Tuesday shared some information as to what led to the snowboarder being left overnight dangling above the ski resort’s slopes as temperatures dipped to 23 degrees. Ultimately, Fortune takes the blame. “I am responsible for all aspects of mountain operations, including the safety of our guests,” reads a statement from Fortune. “We have rigorous protocols to ensure our gondola and chairlifts are fully unloaded each day. I have reviewed our investigation, and it is clear there was a breakdown in those protocols that day. I take full responsibility as well as ownership to ensure it is addressed so that it never happens again. I recognize the gravity of this guest’s experience and we all are grateful she
■ See POST OFFICE, page A8
■ See GONDOLA, page A8
Grizzly Flat Post Office reopens
Eric Jaramishian
‘Breakdown in protocols’ led to gondola overnighter
“When I heard what happened to Grizzly Flat, I expected to meet people who were downtrodden, having lost everything. That is not what I found at all.” — Alicia Leech, Grizzly Flat postmaster
Survey shows modest improvement for snowpack Mountain Democrat staff
PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
The Department of Water Resources on Tuesday conducted the second snow survey of the season at Phillips Station near Sierraat-Tahoe. The manual
survey recorded 29 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 10 inches, which is 58% of average for this location. The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast. These results reflect a modest increase in the snowpack since Jan. 1, but overall conditions are still far below normal. DWR’s electronic readings from 130 stations placed throughout the state indicate the statewide snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 8.4 inches, or 52% of average for this date, an improvement from just 28% of average on Jan. 1. On Feb. 1, 2023, the snowpack statewide was 214% of average.
A team from the California Department of Water Resources Snow Surveys prepares to insert the snow depth survey pole into the snow during the second media snow survey of the 2024 season at Phillips Station Tuesday.
California Department of Water Resources photo by Xavier Mascareñas
“This year’s El Niño has delivered below average precipitation and an even smaller snowpack,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “Californians must prepare for all possible conditions during the remaining months of the rainy season.”
Despite additional precipitation in January, many storms so far this year have been warmer than average, producing rain rather than snow at higher elevations. Overall statewide precipitation is 82% of average for this date. Last year’s
snowpack was aided by both above average precipitation and below average temperatures that created a historic snowpack and improved reservoir storage statewide, which is still above average. Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest
reservoir, is currently 76% of average. “Despite strong El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean, a highpressure system and several other climate factors have led to below average conditions so far ■ See SNOW SURVEY, page A7
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