RENO, Nev. — A viral TikTok video is raising concerns about the potential presence of toxic algae in Lake Tahoe. Now, forest service officials are looking into the report to see if there are any harmful algal blooms in the lake.
Tens of thousands of people were at Lake Tahoe beaches for the July 4 holiday this past week, many of those beachgoers bringing dogs and small children with them. One of those visitors was Anais Felt, whose July 4 birthday trip turned tragic when her beloved dog Cora unexpectedly became sick and passed away in a Northern Nevada animal hospital.
“My beautiful, beautiful dog, who I’ve never been closer to someone in my life, went swimming in the lake at a very popular dog beach, and there were lots of human swimming in the water and lots of dogs swimming in the water, and within an hour she was very sick and within three hours she had passed away,” Felt said in a video she posted to TikTok.
In her TikTok video, Felt claimed Cora’s death was caused by ingestion of toxic algae at the lake.
“Unfortunately, all mammals could be susceptible to ingesting the blue-green algae. Usually it’s from drinking, wading, swimming. The symptoms, unfortunately, also happen very quickly,” local emergency vet Jill Camdus said.
Felt also reported the incident to the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, which is now inspecting the lake for any harmful algal blooms. The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board did a site visit Monday at El Dorado Beach, where staff reported no visual indications of a harmful algal bloom.
Officials also took water samples, which will be tested for the cyanobacteria. The results typically take several days after testing to come in, they said.
In the meantime, there will be advisory signs at El Dorado Beach and Nevada Beach until the results come in.
According to the National Forest Service, the Water Quality Board does routinely test the water. Several Lake Tahoe sites were tested and came up negative for cyanobacteria on June 11.
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