Prescribed burns to continue around Lake Tahoe, weather and snow permitting

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Weather permitting, the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) will continue prescribed fire operations over the next several weeks in the Tahoe Basin. They may not be able to continue prescribed fire operations at some sites because of increased snow loads, but some units are able to continue burning.

Crews will assess snow loads after the Martin Luther King holiday and look for and identify additional opportunities to continue their progress. If a new site is added to what is listed below, it will be updated on their website, http://tahoe.livingwithfire.info/get-informed/.

Schedule (subject to change):

The old Tahoe Pines Campground near the intersection of US Hwy 50 and South Upper Truckee Rd. by the California Tahoe Conservancy. 8 acres of Machine Piles.

Sugar Pine Point State Park - Sugar Pine Point Lakeside Picnic and Ehrman Mansion by California State Parks. 2 acres of Hand Piles.

Griff 2002 - Kings Beach, Placer County by the USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management. 30 acres of Hand Piles.

East side of Second Creek Drainage, below Dorothy Crt by the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District. 27 acres of Piles.

Rose 06, 42, 1042 - Northeast side of Incline Village, off of Fairview Drive by the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District. 25 acres of Piles.

Within Diamond Peak Ski resort by the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District. 20 acres of Piles.

Spooner FA-43 - Chimney Beach, HWY 28, Washoe County by USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. 15 acres of Hand Piles.

Fallen Leaf Lake - 50 acres of Hand Piles on Fallen Leaf Lake Rd.

Fall and winter bring cooler temperatures and precipitation, which are ideal for conducting prescribed fire operations. Each operation follows a specialized prescribed fire burn plan, which considers temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, and conditions for the dispersal of smoke. All of this information is used to decide when and where to burn.

Prescribed fire operations are conducted whenever weather, conditions and staffing allow to reduce excess vegetation that can feed unwanted wildland fires. Planned fires now reduce the threat of unplanned fires later, which helps provide increased community protection. Fire is a natural process in the Sierra Nevada and helps keep our forests healthy by minimizing the spread of insects and disease, recycling nutrients back into the soil and promoting improved habitat for diverse vegetation and wildlife.

Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignition depending on the project size and environmental conditions. Prescribed fire smoke is generally less intense and of much shorter duration than smoke produced by unwanted wildland fires.

Agencies coordinate closely with local county and state air pollution control districts and monitor weather conditions carefully prior to prescribed fire ignitions. They wait for favorable conditions that will carry smoke up and disperse it away from smoke sensitive areas. Crews also conduct test burns before igniting a larger area, to verify how effectively materials are consumed and how smoke will travel.

Before prescribed fire operations are conducted, agencies post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, send email notifications and update the local fire information line maintained by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit at 530-543-2816. The TFFT gives as much advance notice as possible bef