The skies were as blue as Lake Tahoe’s renowned waters when Gloria Brigantino and her friends decided to anchor their boat and enjoy a rum cocktail. The temperature was starting to drop, and the winds were picking up.
On the shore, a band was performing and people were swimming. Children were playing in their swimsuits as the first official weekend of summer began at this popular California holiday spot.
Within minutes on Saturday, everything changed. A storm arrived, causing tents and canopies to fly. White-capped waves and 8-foot swells led to multiple boats capsizing, including a 27-foot vessel filled with tourists.
By Monday, officials confirmed two more people on board the capsized boat were found dead, increasing the death toll to eight.
Ms Brigantino, who was visiting Lake Tahoe with friends from Texas and California, witnessed boats crashing into each other, tearing away from their anchors, and smashing onto shore. Winds reached speeds of 35mph (56km/h), causing a brief snowfall.
She watched safely from the shore as the boat she and her friends had been on capsized, sinking some of their personal belongings.
“Some boat owners were crying as their vessels were wrecked,” she told the BBC. People risked their lives to help charter boats unload passengers as panic set in amidst the worsening conditions.
By then, the band had packed up and fled. Their stage ended up underwater, Ms Brigantino said. “I could smell gas leaking, and some gentlemen helped take passengers off a stranded pontoon boat. The waves crashed so rapidly that people fell off, many were crying.”
Within 35 minutes of coming ashore, Ms Brigantino counted nine boats piled up in front of her. They were there to have fun and help a friend create Western-themed social media content. Before the storm, photos and videos showed the group dancing with drinks and posing in festive hats on the boat.
Ms Brigantino, a self-described cowgirl, stated that she grew up near Lake Tahoe and is familiar with its rapidly changing weather conditions.
“It happened suddenly. The water was rushing towards the shore,” she said. “The weather forecast predicted bad conditions, but nobody expected a squall of such force. It had been decades, if ever, since anyone had witnessed a storm like that in Lake Tahoe.”
Authorities found two additional bodies after a gold 27-foot tourist boat capsized on Monday. Ten people from that vessel went into the water around 15:00 local time on Saturday, and only two survived, according to the Coast Guard.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office has not identified any of the victims, though they confirmed that the six initially found dead were all adults.
“The identifications of the deceased from this terrible incident will not be released until proper notifications have been made,” authorities stated.
The accident occurred in the southwestern corner of Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America. The area is known for its sunny weather, with an alpine lake surrounded by mountains in the Sierra Nevada.
The storm passed almost as quickly as it arrived. Ms Brigantino’s photos and videos show the grey skies and massive swells disappearing by 16:30, with sunshine and clear sapphire waters returning to Lake Tahoe.
