Prescribed burns start again Sunday around the South Shore

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and U.S. Forest Service have scheduled prescribed fire operations around the South Shore from Spooner Summit to Meyers, weather and conditions permitting.

Starting Sunday, November 6, the agencies will start burning hand piles off Logan Creek Drive and on Kingsbury Grade on the East Shore, and on urban lots near Heavenly Mountain Resort and off North Upper Truckee Road on the South Shore.

Nevada (Locations and planned date of ignition):

Logan Creek - 10 acres of hand piles start November 6
Hubbard and Kingsbury Grade - 3 acres of hand piles start November 10
Barton Drive and North Benjamin - 2 acres of hand piles start November 10
Stagecoach - 15 acres of hand piles start November 10

California (Locations and planned date of ignition):
Heavenly Mountain Resort - 73 acres of hand piles start November 6
Twin Peaks - 12 acres of hand piles start November 6

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 TFFT gives 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 and 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