Blustery weather rattles basin

High winds blew through the Lake Tahoe Basin on Sunday, leaving a mild wake of calamity behind.

Gusts of 35 mph on Lake Tahoe brought 3- to 5-foot swells on the water, capsizing at least 11 boats, officials said. No injuries were reported.

The blustery conditions forced the postponement of the Labor Day Fireworks Extravaganza, originally set for Sunday night.

Meanwhile, tree limbs reportedly fell on power poles in South Lake Tahoe and Stateline, but no widespread outages were reported.

Wind gusts, which topped 70 mph on ridge tops, peaked around noon, which is when most of the damage occurred. But the full effects of the windstorm haven’t been tallied yet.

Jeff Jallow, owner of Vessel Assist, towed 11 boats that submerged from their buoys Sunday morning in the lake. He expects more are underwater and says he likely will be “real busy” today pulling them up and onto shore.

Marla Bay resident Roy Pike saw two boats go down Sunday after waves battered the small vessels.

“Once the water poured into the bow, they went down,” he said. “There were some big waves on Marla Bay — the biggest I’ve seen all summer.”

The wind should become calmer today, but temperatures are expected to drop to near freezing at lake level tonight. Overnight lows could plummet into the mid-20s to lower 30s around the lake with clear skies and diminishing winds, said Tribune meteorologist Tom Cylke. He advised Tahoe residents to bring weather-sensitive plants indoors tonight and Tuesday night.