


LAKE TAHOE — The final two people missing were found dead after a boat capsized in Lake Tahoe over the weekend, authorities said.
Two others survived, but their conditions were not known Monday. The El Dorado Sheriff’s Office did not identify any of the eight people who died, saying their identities would not be released until proper notifications are made to the victims’ families.
Ten people were on board the boat, a 27-foot Chris-Craft, when it overturned around 3 p.m. on Saturday near D.L. Bliss State Park, along the southwestern edge of Lake Tahoe, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Six boaters were found deceased Saturday and a seventh person was discovered dead on Sunday evening with the eighth and final body being discovered Monday afternoon.
On Friday, the National Weather Service office in Reno issued a wind advisory — with gusts expected to be as high as 45 mph with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet — for the Lake Tahoe area from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. NWS did not extend the advisory through Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, the NWS Reno office warned of gusty winds and the potential for fires, and briefed officials about “brisk northerly winds” across the region, “especially for Mineral and southern Mono County.” A wind advisory was put in effect for Saturday afternoon and evening for those counties, both far south of the Lake Tahoe area.
NWS records for Saturday showed sustained wind speed at Lake Tahoe increasing to 29 mph around 3 p.m., with gusts up to 38 mph. The air temperature was in the low 40s, and the water temperature was around 60 degrees.
People at Lake Tahoe on Saturday filmed videos of high surf and powerful gusts sending boats crashing onto the lake shore.
Waves rose above a dock as they crashed into shore and lapped up against a restaurant’s outdoor deck, according to the footage. The El Dorado Sheriff’s Office heard reports of waves as tall as 8 feet on Lake Tahoe on Saturday.
The two survivors were rescued by El Dorado County Sheriff’s deputies, in coordination with emergency response partners, and taken to a hospital.
NWS meteorologist Chris Smallcomb said the conditions seen on Saturday were more typical of a winter storm and are unlikely to be observed at the start of summer. While NWS does issue advisories for wind on the lake, those announcements are reserved for longer-duration strong winds and rough water.
“The wind event was sudden, localized, and of limited predictability. This case had decaying showers/thunderstorms which produced observed gusts on the lake to 45 mph for a brief period, while severe thunderstorm criteria are gusts 60-plus mph,” Smallcomb said. “Based on our forecasting experience, 8-foot waves on Tahoe would be notable even during a large winter storm, which is when we’d most likely see them. To have them occur in the summer is even more rare.”