Video Shows Aftermath of Lake Tahoe July 4 Celebration with Tons of Trash

Independence Day revelers in northern California and western Nevada left abandoned clothes, tents and trash along the beach in south Lake Tahoe, according to multiple videos posted to social media.

Wildlife filmmaker Riley McClaughry posted to his Instagram account the scene at Zephyr Cove, which is located just northeast of the resort city of South Lake Tahoe, where the beach was strewn with garbage and leftover camping and vacation items after Tuesday’s Fourth of July celebrations.

Nonprofit organization Clean Up the Lake also posted the video, advertising a beach cleanup effort Wednesday morning in collaboration with fellow nonprofit The League to Save Lake Tahoe.

“Sad to see the aftermath of one day and the way that we treat our home when we are ‘celebrating’,” Clean Up the Lake said in its post. “We can do better.”

The League to Save Lake Tahoe said some 6,200 pounds of litter were cleaned up at Zephyr Cove alone.

Roughly 400 volunteers picked up a total of 8,559 pounds of litter, including cigarette butts, plastic food wrappers, beach toys and barbecues, over three hours along Lake Tahoe’s beaches.

Some beaches, such as Kings Beach State Recreation Area, were relatively clean due to the ample availability of trash cans and management staff.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe has organized an annual July 5 beach cleanup around the lake since 2014. The amount of trash removed this year is an all-time high, the organization said in a news release.

“This morning, one of Tahoe’s beaches looked like a landfill,” League CEO Darcie Goodman Collins said in a statement. “Thanks to passionate volunteers and community partners, it started to look like Tahoe again after some hard work.”