Tahoe Basin power outages may snarl traffic


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The Nevada Department of Transportation is warning motorists that, if NV Energy has to shut down power in extreme fire risk areas of the Tahoe Basin to prevent wildfires, traffic signals in some areas may be non-operational.

The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for western Nevada for Thursday and Friday. NV Energy said it “likely” would cut power to Incline Village sometime Friday due to anticipated high winds.

Those outages designed to keep power lines and other utility equipment from starting a blaze may leave signals either blinking red or dark.

A spokesman for NDOT said when the lights aren’t working, intersections should be treated as four-way stops. Nevada traffic rules require motorists to come to a complete stop when traffic signals at an intersection aren’t working and to yield to pedestrians.

In addition, they warn that areas that feature overhead lights to help drivers see what’s ahead on the road may also be dark.

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