Prescribed burns continuing in Lake Tahoe basin

Lake Valley and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, California State Parks and the U.S Forest Service have plans to continue widespread prescribed fire operations beginning February 1.

Lake Valley operations: 50 acres northeast of Lake Tahoe Airport off of Barbara Avenue. Planned ignition February 3. 10 days of burn down time. Smoke expected to travel southwest.

Tahoe Douglas Fire District: 3 acres between Round Hill and Zephyr Cove. Planned ignition February 1. 5 days of burn down time. Smoke expected to travel North/Northeast. 40 acres at Shakespeare Rock. Planned ignition date of February 1. 10 days of burn down time with smoke expected to travel North/Northeast/East.

California State Parks: All areas have a planned ignition date of February 1 with one month of burn time and smoke is expected to travel east. 30 acres at Emerald Bay State Park, 23 acres at D.L. Bliss State Park, 26 acres at Sugar Pine Point Park. 70 acres at Burton Creek State Park.

USFS: 15 acres at Logan Creek with planned ignition date of February 1. 5 days of burn down time with smoke expected to travel North/Northeast/East. 150 acres at Camp Galilee. Planned ignition date is February 1 with 10 days of burn down time. Smoke expected to travel North/Northeast/East.

Residual smoke may be seen in locations where operations have taken place over the last several weeks. The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) gives as much advance notice as possible before burning, but some operations may be conducted on short notice in areas not identified on the map.

Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignition depending on the project size and environmental conditions. Agencies coordinate with state and local county air pollution control districts and monitor weather conditions closely prior to prescribed fire ignition. They wait for favorable conditions that will carry smoke up and out of the Basin. Crews also conduct test burns before igniting a larger area, to verify how effectively fuels are consumed how smoke will travel.

Before conducting prescribed fire operations, agencies post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, send email notifications and update the local fire information line at 530-543-2816. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us. For more information on prescribed fire operations and smoke management tips, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/RxFireOps.