General Conditions

With children back in school (or soon to be there), crowds at Donner Summit have thinned.  But the weather remains very pleasant and summer-like.  Daytime highs have been in the low 80s and overnight lows have been in the 50s.  There have been a few clouds (more yesterday and today, and also cooler), but no precipitation for weeks. Find details on the Central Sierra Snow Lab web site (https://cssl.berkeley.edu/).

There is, however, a hint of smoke in the air — possibly from the Talbot fire, which started yesterday and is about 20 miles south of the Summit.  There is a much larger fire in Nevada and some of the smoke may be coming from that direction.  Purple Air AQI around the Summit this morning was 40-50 (acceptable, but possibly irritating for people with respiratory conditions); it was twice as high in the Tahoe Donner and Donner Lake areas to the east.

  The ground continues to dry and wildflowers are fading; but you can still find a few — especially on north-facing slopes and in lower, moister locations.  USFS rates wildfire danger as “moderate”; Truckee Fire rates the danger as “very high”.

  When operational, webcams at Sugar Bowl (http://www.sugarbowl.com/home), Donner Ski Ranch (http://webcams.donnerskiranch.com/), and Boreal (https://www.rideboreal.com/explore/webcams/boreal-mountain-cam/) provide views of current conditions on Donner Summit.

Sunrise/Sunset: Today’s (August 13) sunrise was at 6:12 AM, about 6 minutes later than a week ago.  Sunset will be at 7:59 PM, about 8 minutes earlier than last week.  The days are getting shorter — by 2 minutes each day.

Star Gazing: The Moon is just past new; in fact, there was a total solar eclipse in northern Europe yesterday.  Evening star gazing (~10 PM) will be good for the next few days while the Moon remains a crescent.    The Perseids meteor shower supposedly peaked last night; but the fragments are spread over a wide arc and there may be enhanced meteors for at least another week.  Best views are at 2-5 AM when the Moon has long been set.

On the southern horizon around 10 PM, look for the constellation Scorpius.  The scorpion’s tail resembles an anchor lying on its side.  Sagittarius looks like a 5-pointed star (some imagine a teapot) and is to the east of Scorpius.  Cassiopeia looks like a slightly rotated “W” just above the northeastern horizon.  On a clear night with no Moon (such as the next few nights), you can make out the Milky Way — a very faint band of light stretching between Cassiopeia and Sagittarius.  It’s close to overhead at midnight.  Vega is the bright star almost directly overhead at 10 PM; historically, it has been used as the brightness reference for all other stars in the sky (its magnitude is 0.03).  Cygnus (the Swan constellation) flies along the Milky Way.

Venus is the bright star-like object above the western horizon just after sunset.  If you have a good view toward the west, you can see it as late as 3 hours after sunset.  Venus will be at maximum separation from the Sun on August 14.

Forecast

Today there may be isolated thundershowers (32% chance) and the high temperature will be about 70°.  Expect upper 60s and low 70s for the next week and then mid- to upper 70s for the following week.  Overnight lows will be in the 40s for the next two weeks.  Overall, a little more like fall than the past month.  Chances of precipitation will be in single digits after today.

Summit News

Forestry Work Near Summit Station: A forest health and wildfire resilience project has begun roughly centered on Summit Station — north of Cascade, Pahatsi, and Kidd Lake Road and west of Soda Springs Road.  Trails in the project area will be closed.  For a map and more information, go to https://www.truckeedonnerlandtrust.org/news-events/royal-gorge-forestry-closure

DSA is Looking for an Administrative Assistant: This person would support the Donner Summit Association Board of Directors in day-to-day operations.  Expected average work load is 10 hours per month.  Pay is $25-40 per hour depending on experience and skills.  For more information see 260725a_duties

Nevada County Calendar: Look for community events throughout Nevada County on their calendar at https://gonevadacounty.com/community-calendar/

Soda Springs Cannabis Dispensary:  Nevada County’s Board of Supervisors postponed discussion of selection criteria for a dispensary in the Soda Springs area until their meeting (in Truckee) on October 6. See RFA Community and Stakeholder Letter for details.  The draft RFA for dispensary applicants is at https://www.nevadacountyca.gov/3905/Commercial-Cannabis-Dispensary-Applicati#docaccess-bbeff2aadd2f0d4c29aabb0d69227a76

Meadow Restorations: Beginning in mid-August, the South Yuba River Citizens League will be using low-tech process-based restoration methods such as beaver dam analogs (BDAs) and post-assisted log structures (PALS) to remedy incised and degraded channels within Castle and Round Valleys (north of I-80 at exit 176).  Among other objectives, the project will restore habitat of the federally endangered and CA state threatened Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog.  All work will be done using hand tools, including chainsaws which may be heard from hiking trails. The trees being cut are encroaching conifers from within and on the perimeter of the meadow and will be used as building material for the BDAs and PALS.  Implementation is expected to last about two weeks during August this year with additional rounds of restoration expected in summers of 2027 and 2028.  For more information, go to https://yubariver.org/project-categories/meadow-restoration/

Placer County General Plan Update: The General Plan covers many important topics, including where housing and businesses get built, how we travel around Placer County, protecting the natural environment, and providing parks and community services.  Half of Donner Summit is in Placer County.  Watch this space for more information on update activities and/or visit https://www.placer.ca.gov/10433/General-Plan-2050

Fire Safety: Fire danger on Donner Summit is currently rated as “moderate” to “very high” depending on the agency.  Residential burn permits, required since May 1, have been suspended throughout the Truckee Fire region.  Outdoor charcoal and wood fires — e.g., barbecues — are prohibited (gas only).   See https://www.truckeefire.org for more.

Defensible Space: A recording of a very informative Truckee Fire webinar on fire safety and defensible space is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COz0xBZ74FY&t=535s.  It runs about 51 minutes.  At least two other relevant videos — the documentary Standing Dead and a recording of a Steve Hawks (Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety) Zoom presentation — are available through the Eastern Regional Firewise Coalition web site at https://www.erfwc.org/.  You may need the passcode #2sK1jKw to view the Hawks recording.

Fire Inspections: With one exception, Donner Summit is scheduled for defensible space inspections by Truckee Fire this summer/fall.  The exception is Serene Lakes, which was inspected in 2024 and will be re-inspected in 2027.

Summit Calendar

August 20 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The August meeting of the DSA Board of Directors will be at the Nancy O Gallery and Glass in Soda Springs.   Find an agenda at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/    during the week before the meeting.  Directions to the meeting will be included.

August 22 (Saturday) 2 PM: Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rainbow Bridge (aka Donner Summit Bridge) with the California Lincoln Highway Association.  A tour offered by CLHA leaves Auburn at 10 AM; or just be at the bridge at 2 PM.

August 22 (Saturday) 11 AM to August 23 (Sunday) 4 PM: The “Crumble + Hard Head” event at Donner Ski Ranch for serious mountain bikers is sponsored by the Sacramento Pacific International Trials Society.  For more information go to https://www.sactopits.org/event-details/crumble-hard-head

August 27 (Thursday) 1-3 PM: Small Business Capital Summit in Grass Valley.  A free in-person event with (1) a panel of local and regional lenders discussing how to finance your business followed by (2) a meet-and-greet when you can network directly with lenders, investors, and representatives from local business organizations that provide free resources to help people start their businesses and make them grow.  More info at https://bit.ly/NevCoCapitalSummit

September 6 (Sunday) 10 AM – 2 PM: The Art Faire at Soda Springs General Store is free to artists and the public.  Enjoy live music, a barbecue, and wine tasting while chatting with artists and inspecting their crafts.

September 10 (Thursday) Morning: Join DSA and Sugar Bowl for graffiti abatement on the exterior of old railroad tunnels.  Details later.

September 17 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The September meeting of the DSA Board of Directors at a TBD location.   Find an agenda at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/    during the week before the meeting.  Directions to the meeting will be included.

September 19 (Saturday) 9 AM – Noon: South Yuba River Citizens League annual river cleanup day.  Most of the activity is at lower elevations, and the appreciation party is in Grass Valley.  But you can do “self-guided” cleanup anywhere in the drainage.  For more information, visit https://yubariver.org/posts/syrcl-invites-the-community-to-29th-annual-yuba-river-cleanup-september-19-2026/?utm_source=SYRCL+ENews&utm_medium=July+23%2c+2026&ms=Enews_7-23-2026&emci=3b2d3d35-5184-f111-b337-000d3a1558ce&emdi=386163b1-c886-f111-b337-000d3a1558ce&ceid=4781554

September 19 and 20 (Saturday and Sunday): Donner Party Hikes — Seven hikes around Donner Summit with historical themes.  Choose one hike each day.  For more information and registration go to https://www.donnerpartyhike.com

September 26 (Saturday) Noon – 3 PM: DSA’s annual SummitFest at Soda Springs Mountain Resort.  A benefit with live music, food, drinks, auctions, and fun.  Details later; for now, just save the date.

October 17 (Saturday): Oktoberfest at Rainbow Lodge.  Details at https://www.therainbowlodge.com/events

Resorts

Boreal/Woodward: Woodward Tahoe (indoor and outdoor) is up and running.  Open daily 1-8 PM, Saturdays and Sundays 10 AM – 8 PM.  Check https://www.rideboreal.com/explore/community/all-events/  for special events.

Sugar Bowl: Summer activities have been limited while the new gondola is being installed.  It’s Sugar Bowl’s fourth gondola.  For a gondola history see https://www.sugarbowl.com/gondola-history.  For other news go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/home

Donner Ski Ranch: DSR’s Old 40 Bar and Grill remains open 7 days a week.  DSR offers beds, showers, and laundry to PCT thru-hikers and disc golf to anyone interested.  Thru-hikers 21 years and older can claim a 40 oz beer.  Check the DSR web site at https://www.donnerskiranch.com for more information.

Soda Springs Mountain Resort is closed for the season.  Watch  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for news.

Royal Gorge is closed for the season.  The resort is planning a Royal Gorge XC Ski Team for winter 2026-27; for more information, see https://www.sugarbowl.com/nordic-team.  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for other updates.

ASC Training Center (formerly Auburn Ski Club) specializes in training for competition and sponsors events.  The ASC Training Center is closed for the season.  Check their web site — https://www.asctrainingcenter.org — for more information.

Kingvale Resort (on the south side of I-80 at exit 171) is closed for the season.

Avalanche Report

The Sierra Avalanche Center has posted general comments about avalanches on its website  https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

A short report on the February 17 Perry Peak avalanche near Frog Lake has been posted at https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/observations/#/view/avalanches/83ba330a-5eb4-446e-95b0-495c26faf06b.  It points to a more in-depth report on avalanche.org.

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and in good condition, but there are lane restrictions and ramp closures (both day and night, both east and west) that cause backups between Colfax and Truckee.  The Hwy 20 eastbound merge with I-80 eastbound is closed weekdays.  Plan ahead by following CalTrans reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.  Check I-80 webcams at https://caltranscameras.app/cameras/route/I-80

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit should be in good condition.  Watch for puddles, rocks, and downed trees on unpaved roads.   The Old Donner Summit Road (along the north side of Van Norden Meadow) has been regraded and the railroad crossing has been rebuilt.  It has been open to through traffic in both directions for several weeks.  Rattlesnake Canyon Road (FR85) north from Cisco Grove was closed for four years starting in 2024 for construction at Fordyce Dam.