Prescribed burning to resume in South Lake Tahoe

Expect to see smoke in the Christmas Valley and Meyers areas of the South Shore as the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit begins prescribed fire operations on Saturday, October 17. They plan to start the season by burning 122 acres of hand piles near Grass Lake Road off southbound Highway 89. They will continue on the project over the next several weeks as conditions allow.

Expect to see smoke travel in a north/northeast direction.

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. The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) will give as much advance notice as possible before burning, but some operations may be conducted on short notice.

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 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 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.