Eight people are confirmed dead, and two others have been rescued, after a boat capsized on Lake Tahoe over the weekend during a sudden and violent thunderstorm that brought high winds and swells of up to 8 feet (2.4m).
The incident, reportedly involving a 27-foot (8.2m) Chris-Craft vessel with ten people aboard, occurred Saturday afternoon near DL Bliss State Park on the lake’s south-western edge.
According to the US Coastguard, the boat capsized at approximately 3pm on Saturday (21 June 2025) after being hit by a large swell. Two people were taken to a hospital in unknown condition, and six people were initially found dead at the scene. The remaining two passengers were listed as missing, and their bodies were recovered by Monday, bringing the death toll to eight. The identities of the victims have not yet been released, pending next-of-kin notifications.
The Coastguard and partner agencies searched an area of over 390 square miles for 12 combined hours, before suspending the search at 10:55am on Sunday.
“Suspending a search is always a difficult decision to make and weighs heavily on each Coastguard member involved,” said Coastguard Cmdr. David Herndon on Sunday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those involved in the boat capsize.”
The sudden storm caught many off guard. Meteorologist Matthew Chyba with the National Weather Service office in Reno, Nevada, told The Guardian: “We weren’t expecting it to be so strong.” He noted that winds topped 35mph and waves swelled more than 8ft, adding, “Eight-foot waves on Tahoe is pretty significant… They were really rocking the lake.” He told the outlet that temperatures in the area were 15 to 25 degrees below normal, which may have contributed to the unstable air mass.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as the weather changed dramatically. “It was a very, very tragic day on Lake Tahoe,” local boat captain Joby Cefalu told South Tahoe News.
Gloria Brigantino, a visitor who had been aboard the same boat earlier in the day before it capsized, recalled the mayhem from shore. “It happened suddenly. The water was just screaming toward the shore,” she told the BBC. “Some owners of the boats were crying as their boats were wrecked.” She described people risking their lives to help unload passengers from stricken boats, and said the wind even brought in a brief snow shower.
Brigantino added: “I could smell gas leaking, some gentlemen helped take passengers off a pontoon boat that got stuck in the shore. The waves just bashed it so rapidly they ran off, fell off, many were crying.” She said that within 35 minutes of returning to land, she counted nine boats piled in front of them.
The storm cleared out within about two hours, with sunshine and calm waters returning by around 4:30pm, according to photos and video captured by Brigantino. “The band had packed up and fled. Their stage was now underwater,” she said.
Video obtained by KCRA-TV showed moored boats at a nearby marina crashing into one another amid strong gusts.
Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam reported that multiple people were rescued from the lake throughout Saturday, including paddleboarders and others in distress. “The weather on Lake Tahoe can be unpredictable and it’s vital to be prepared,” Balaam told ABC. “I was devastated by the deadly capsizing.”
The Coastguard echoed the warning: “The Coastguard urges all mariners, experienced or not, to always wear a life jacket, check the weather conditions before heading out on the water, file a float plan, and carry a working VHF radio to call for assistance.”
Lake Tahoe, which straddles the California-Nevada border, is known for its cold, deep waters and popularity among summer holidaymakers. Authorities have reiterated the dangers of sudden weather shifts on the alpine lake, which is the second-deepest in the US after Oregon’s Crater Lake.
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