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100 MPH Wind Gusts Recorded At Lake Tahoe Area Ski Resorts During Red Flag Warning

LAKE TAHOE (CBS13) — Wind gusts hit more than 100 miles-per-hour at several ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area, including a 140 mph reading at Kirkwood overnight Sunday. The extreme weather is creating fire danger in mountain communities.

Intense flames spread by howling winds led to a massive fire response along Interstate 80 at Cisco Grove at 3 a.m. Monday. U.S. Forest Service firefighters had to work fast to keep a structure fire at the Cisco Grove campground from spreading through surrounding forest land.

Summer Leone lives on the backside of Alpine Meadows Ski Resort where a 119 mph gust was recorded overnight.

"That's pretty crazy," Leone said. "It was just really loud and the windows were shaking."

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A Siberian sensation. The triple-digit wind speeds arrived the first night this ski resort started its own snow-making ahead of the ski season.

"I mean it definitely rattles you," Leone said. "Because you don't want your windows to break or a pine cone to break your windshield or something."

Will Thompson slept in a rest stop rather than drive through the windstorm. He arrived at his destination late but safe.

"It was like this morning, the part that got me because I ended up staying on the side of the road because it was just too much," Thompson said.

On Lake Tahoe, winds created white caps on the water. Cell phone video showed a sailboat being tossed around like a small toy. The winds also creating some fun for surfers who were able to ride the waves from this wind event to the Lake Tahoe shore.

Wild winds, creating excitement for some, also creating an extreme fire danger.

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