SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Divers searched a section of Lake Tahoe on Monday for one person still missing after seven others were killed when a boat capsized during a sudden and powerful weekend thunderstorm that whipped up high waves, authorities said.
Ten people were on board the 27-foot (8-meter) gold Chris-Craft vessel when it flipped Saturday afternoon near D.L. Bliss State Park on the lake’s southwest edge, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.
Two people were rescued immediately and taken to a hospital in unknown condition. Six bodies were recovered later Saturday and a seventh body was found Sunday evening, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. Their names won’t be released until family members are notified, Sgt. Kyle Parker said.
The intensity of the thunderstorm surprised even forecasters, who had predicted some rain but nothing like the squall that lashed the southern part of the lake around 3 p.m., said meteorologist Matthew Chyba with the National Weather Service office in Reno, Nevada. Winds topped 35 mph (56 kph) and waves swelled more than 8 feet (2.5 meters).
“We weren’t expecting it to be so strong,” Chyba said Monday. He said temperatures in the area were 15 to 25 degrees below normal for this time of year, which could have contributed to the unstable air mass.
Eight-foot waves on Tahoe is “pretty significant,” Chyba said. “They were really rocking the lake.”
Lake Tahoe is a popular summer recreation destination for boaters, kayakers and paddleboarders. The pristine lake with very cold water straddles California and Nevada and is one of the deepest in the country, second only to Oregon's Crater Lake.
Rescue crews and divers scoured the area Saturday evening for the remaining victims and resumed efforts Sunday morning before the Coast Guard eventually called off its search. El Dorado County sheriff's deputies continued searching Monday with help from other agencies from California and neighboring Nevada, Parker said.
Officials haven’t shared any details about the group on the boat, or said whether the vessel was rented or owned.
The storm Saturday cleared out within about two hours.
Brittany Glick was on a rented pontoon boat with seven others celebrating a friend’s bachelorette party Saturday when the wind started picking up and the waves started getting bigger. The day had started sunny and suddenly the temperature dropped and there was almost no visibility, Glick said Monday.
“It felt like we were in a tsunami that was starting. I have never experienced anything like that,” she said.
As the boat returned to the dock after about an hour of navigating increasingly choppy waters, soaking the passengers, it started to hail.
“We were shaken up seeing all the boats flipped," Glick said. "And being drenched in that water, we were so cold. We were shaking uncontrollably. Our feet were numb, and our toes were turning blue. That was probably one of the scariest moments I’ve had in my 30 years. The storm came in so quick. It was terrifying.”
Video obtained by KCRA-TV showed moored boats at a nearby marina crashing into one another amid strong gusts.
Drowning and other accidental deaths linked to water sports have occurred in recent years on the lake, but boating accidents involving half a dozen deaths are rare. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department told KCRA in 2022 there are an average of six deaths on the lake each summer, though there were a record 15 in 2021. The department couldn't immediately provide updated numbers.
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Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press reporter Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles.
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