No alcohol, fireworks allowed on the beach

S0UTH LAKE TAHOE - No fireworks or open containers will be allowed today at South Shore beaches.

With the population on South Shore exploding from more than 22,000 to an estimated 130,000 and fire danger high because of an early snowmelt and strong winds, police and fire officials will be in full force.

"Safe and sane" fireworks, such as sparklers and smoke bombs, are banned along with illegal fireworks in all locations including beaches and on the water.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Department officials said they will have patrol units out to make sure no one is lighting any fireworks.

"We're gearing up for the Fourth with extra people staffed and an extra patrol unit," South Lake Tahoe Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Douglass said. "We'll have our fire rescue boat on the water for six to eight hours prior to the fireworks. What we try and do is patrol neighborhoods and make contact with the public to make sure they know that fireworks are illegal and that they shouldn't use them."

The police department said they plan to have "zero-tolerance" concerning alcohol violations. "If it looks like beer or an alcoholic beverage or we can smell it we'll have the person dump it out or issue a citation," said South Lake Tahoe Police Sgt. Steve O'Brien.

It is illegal to possess or consume alcohol in any public place or to be intoxicated in public. Anyone whose blood alcohol level is over .08 is not permitted to operate a car, boat or bicycle. If they are under the age of 21, an alcohol violation will result in the loss of their driver's license.

Police said Stateline will be the most congested area. The Stateline beach corridor will be closed to vehicles but open for pedestrians.

"Last year we couldn't ride our horses through the crowd on that street or we would have hurt somebody," said South Lake Police Officer Chuck Owens.

"There's gridlock. It's physically difficult to move around the city. That's why we have special units placed through the city and that helps us maintain control. "

City police plan to coordinate their efforts with El Dorado County Sheriff's Department and have foot, horse and bike patrols working until 2 a.m.

"By the time the fireworks go off, that seems to be the signal for every one to go crazy," Owens said. "That's when we start getting fight reports. It's like a starting gun going off. I've worked Stateline for years and you can actually hear the volume increase. The better the fireworks it seems the more energized the crowd becomes."

The pyromusical "Lights on the Lake 2000" starts at 9:45 p.m. The fireworks display will be launched from a floating dock near Stateline and can be seen from most beaches in South Lake Tahoe.

If a boater plans to be on the lake during the show, everyone in the boat needs a flotation device, the boat cannot be overloaded, all of the running lights on the boat must work and flares cannot be fired unless an emergency exists, police said.

"So far it's been quiet," said South Lake Tahoe Police Sgt. Steve O'Brien. "It's very crowded in town but so far everything is going very smoothly. We had a couple of very minor boat incidents where some kayaks turned over."