Letter: YES on Measure B to Keep Tahoe Blue and Safe

If you live in Tahoe, the threat of fire is constantly ping-ponging around in the back of your mind – a dull nagging feeling that’s tough to pin down.

As someone who was born and raised here, and who purchased a home that was rebuilt after the 2007 Angora Fire, that nagging feeling is more tangible. Every morning, the fire-scarred hillside and blackened trees right outside my window remind me how much we rely on our first responders to keep us safe. And as the CEO of the League to Save Lake Tahoe, I know that fires wreak havoc on Tahoe’s ecosystem – by generating emissions that feed the growth of algae in Lake Tahoe, and by leaving barren slopes whose soils wash into the Lake when it rains, clouding its blue waters.

To keep our community, our property and our Lake resilient and safe from fire, I’m voting yes on Measure B on March 3. Please join me.

Funds from Measure B will ensure the 28 full-time firefighter-paramedics from the Lake Valley Fire Protection District have the tools they need to respond to catastrophic events like wildfires. The measure comes with strict guardrails and oversight mechanisms to ensure that all dollars collected are spent only on needed equipment, such as fire engines, rescue tools and personal protective gear. Measure B will never go toward pay increases. And an independent citizens oversight commission will make sure of it, while also ensuring that every expenditure is as efficient as possible.

At the League, we work to Keep Tahoe Blue by combating the pollution fires create, and by advancing restoration of forests so they’re more resilient when fire strikes. As the climate changes, the threat from fire will grow. Our community, and Lake Tahoe, need a well-equipped LVFPD to keep us safe and healthy.

- Darcie Goodman Collins, PhD