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Fireside Lodge finds new owners 10 years after opening up doors to Angora firefighters

Claire Cudahy
ccudahy@tahoedailytribune.com

Along Emerald Bay Road a bright red pick-up truck filled with flowers sits in front of a log cabin lodge — a familiar site for those en route to Emerald Bay or Fallen Leaf Lake and a treasured feature of the over 80-year-old Fireside Lodge.

Built in the 1930s, the Fireside Lodge has been owned and operated for the last 10 years by Christine and Dave Latshaw. The Southern California-transplants bought the 10-room bed and breakfast back in 2007 — just three weeks before the Angora Fire would strike, burning 254 homes and threatening the couple’s new business.

After all their guests evacuated, the Latshaws opened up the inn, free of charge, to a fire crew from the Central Valley town of Manteca.



Now 10 years later, the Latshaws have passed on the Fireside Lodge to two couples that have long dreamed of owning their own bed and breakfast.

Newlyweds Steven Carta and Tracy Piazza-Carta, along with best friends Amir Sohrabi and Sara Chini-Sohrabi, purchased the Fireside Lodge back in December.



The couples searched for the perfect bed and breakfast for three and a half years before landing on the Fireside Lodge.

“We never intended to go farther west than West Virginia,” said Steven, a Maryland native.

But after several visits to the area with a friend who moved to Reno, Steven and Tracy fell in love with Tahoe and the Fireside Lodge — and so did Amir and Sara, who will join the Cartas in Tahoe next year.

Though from the outside the bed and breakfast may look like a retro motel, it is so much more, said Steven.

Each of the 10 themed rooms is filled with antiques, pillows and other cozy touches, and feature names like Field & Stream, Big Blue and Bears Den. A vintage game room includes old arcade games, including Ms. Pac-Man, ski ball and air hockey. Guests can also enjoy homemade breakfast, a happy hour out on the lawn, and popcorn and s’mores at night by the outdoor fire pit.

“We really just want to preserve and enhance,” said Tracy. “The previous owners did a great job.”

And inside the lodge, still framed on the wall, is a newspaper article about the Fireside Lodge’s hospitality to those who risked their lives protecting Lake Tahoe 10 years ago.

Fireside Lodge is located at 515 Emerald Bay Road in South Lake Tahoe.


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