Lake Tahoe is full for the first time in five years.
The lake has come within an inch of its maximum 6,229 feet, according to a U.S. Geological Survey gauge, and water officials are declaring it officially full.
Lake Tahoe, the sixth largest lake in the U.S. and the largest alpine lake in North America, last fully filled in 2019. The upper 6.1 feet of the more than 744,000-acre lake is used as a reservoir for downstream flows in the Truckee River.
In the last week, flows on the Truckee River have increased from about 50 cubic feet per second to about 300 cubic feet per second to account for the high water levels at the lake and ongoing spring melt from Tahoe’s 63 tributaries.