New Year's Eve Tourism In Tahoe A Concern For Locals
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (CBS13) - Living along Highway 50 has not been easy this year due to the devastating Caldor Fire and now a major snowstorm causing power outages, fuel shortages and stress around the holiday season.
With New Year's Eve here, neighbors in El Dorado County are concerned tourism will prevent recovery efforts.
"We live a hard life up here," said Tiffany Halsey.
Her family was just starting to recover from the Caldor Fire, and winter storms caused another obstacle.
"It's hard being displaced," Halsey said.
Last week's snowstorm set the family back.
"I'm still out of power," she said.
Once again, the community of Pollock Pines is struggling with the snowpack preventing fuel and food deliveries to the area.
"Most of the frozen shelves are empty," said Tiffany Halsey's daughter, London.
With New Year's Eve hours away, they fear what's left for them will all be taken by tourists heading to Tahoe to party.
"Everybody is kind of using this as like a pitstop," London said.
"They're taking our gas, they're taking what we need to survive. When people want to come up and play and mess around, they're messing with our lives. Let us recover," Halsey said.
The final New Year's Eve destination is 50 miles away in Tahoe, where officials are asking visitors to reconsider ringing in the new year there.
"Everyone wants to come to Tahoe, hoot and holler," said CEO of South Lake Tahoe's Chamber of Commerce Duane Wallace.
Wallace was concerned casinos are still planning parties when local resources are stretched thin.
"People expect the tow trucks to come, the police to come and they can't. They're overwhelmed. If you don't have to travel in the Sierra, maybe not this time," Wallace said.
Caltrans said they have no plans of shutting down I-80 or Highway 50 unless the weather gets worse.