Prescribed burns to continue on east and south shores of Lake Tahoe

There are seven scheduled prescribed fire operations in the Lake Tahoe Basin this week in the areas of Logan Shoals Vista Point, Camp Galilee, Angora Creek burn area, Round Hill, Shakespeare Rock and the Spring Creek area.

At the Logan Creek Overlook there are 15 acres of hand piles being burned, with an ignition date of February 16 and will continue as conditions allow. Smoke should travel in a north to northeast direction.

There are 150 acres of hand piles around Camp Galilee that crews are schedule to start burning on February 16 as well. They plan to burn as long as conditions allow. Expect smoke to travel to the north/northeast.

In the Tranquility area between Zephyr Cove and Round Hill, three acres will be ignited on 2/16. Smoke will travel to the north, northeast.

Also on the Nevada side, there are 40 acres to be burned near Glenbrook's Shakespeare Rock starting on 2/16. Smoke will travel to the north, northeast.

West of Boulder Mountain Drive near the Angora Fire burn area, 25 acres of hand piles will be burned beginning on 2/16. Also in the vicinity, 5 more acres will be burned near Panther Rd.

Ten acres of hand piles will be ignited on 2/16 north of Spring Creek off Highway 89 starting 2/16. Smoke will travel to the north, northeast.

To view a map with project locations and details, visit http://www.tahoefft.org. 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.

Fall and winter bring cooler temperatures and precipitation, which favor prescribed burning. Each prescribed fire operation follows a prescribed fire burn plan, which considers temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, and conditions for the dispersal of smoke. This information is used to decide when and where to burn.

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.