Forest Service prescribed fire ops to resume on Kingsbury Grade, Angora

By Cheva Heck
U.S. Forest Service fire and fuels management crews will be conducting prescribed fire operations in the Andria Drive area off Kingsbury Grade in Stateline, Nev., through the rest of the week. If conditions allow, the Forest Service also may resume operations in the Angora area, focusing on the area below Angora Ridge Rd. and west of Mule Deer Circle. The number of acres will depend on weather conditions and other factors.

Forest Service fire and fuels management staff monitor weather conditions closely prior to prescribed fire ignition. They are looking for conditions that will carry smoke up and out of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Crews conduct a test burn before igniting a larger area, to verify how effectively fuels are consumed and how the smoke will travel. If crews light a significant number of acres at one time, the project may produce a smoke plume resembling that of a wildland fire. Remember that fire appears larger at night.

The Forest Service strives to minimize the impacts of smoke on local communities. Smoke-sensitive residents should consider staying indoors and keeping doors, windows and outside vents closed. To directly receive prescribed fire updates, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us. Forest Service staff will post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, and update the local fire information line at (530) 543-2600, #6. Other federal, state and local fire management agencies may also be conducting prescribed fire work during this period.

Pile-burning operations are an important part of fuels reduction to reduce the risk of severe wildfire in the Lake Tahoe Basin. For more information, visit our website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/RxFireOps . To learn more about the efforts to reduce high-intensity wildfire risks in the Tahoe Basin, read the Lake Tahoe Basin Multi-Jurisdictional Fuel Reduction Plan found here.

Take a few moments to visit an excellent web site and learn about Prescribed Fire vs. Wildfire at: http://www.smokeybear.com/prescribed-fires.asp.

— Writer Cheva Heck is a public information officer for the U.S. Forest Service. She can be reached at check@fs.fed.us.