Fire operations to continue at Lake Tahoe

California State Parks, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations started back up today, February 22, 2016.

On the East Shore, operations are scheduled to take place near Logan Shoals Vista Point, Spooner Summit and Sand Harbor. Ten acres on Spooner, 15 acres at Logan Shoals, 150 acres at Camp Galilee and 30 acres at Sand Harbor.

On the South Shore, operations are scheduled near Eagle Point Campground, Spring Creek and Panther Road. Five acres in Angora Creek area, 10 acres on Panther, 30 acres at Emerald Bay.

On the West Shore, operations are scheduled to take place near Sugar Pine Point and D.L. Bliss state parks and on the North Shore near Burton Creek State Park. 15 acres at D.L. Bliss and 22 acres at Sugar Pine, along with 66 acres at Burton Creek.

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.