As fire crews battled dangerous winds on the Davis Fire last week and advancing flames forced the shutdown of Mount Rose Highway, Tahoe residents in Incline Village grew increasingly nervous. The 24.5-mile road is a crucial link between Incline Village and Reno and is one of six entry points into the Tahoe Basin. With Mount Rose Highway closed, drivers had no choice but to reroute onto Highway 28, pushing more traffic onto the two-lane mountain road that circumnavigates the north shore of Lake Tahoe. But on Highway 28, traffic was compounded by multiple road construction projects.
The gridlock and detours were exactly the kind of stacked scenario — wildfire, road closures, traffic, construction — that many people who live in Tahoe fear if they were to get a call to evacuate suddenly.
A recent report commissioned by a nonprofit , Tahoe Sierra Clean Air Coalition, validates those fears and concerns related to wildfire evacuations, which are shared among a number of Tahoe residents. The $100,000 independent study was paid for by Doug Flaherty, an Incline Village resident who leads the coalition and is a vocal critic of Tahoe’s decision-makers…