Prescribed fires resume around Lake Tahoe

Lake Valley, North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, California State Parks, California Tahoe Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service will continue Lake Tahoe Basin prescribed fire operations over the next several weeks, weather permitting. Operations are scheduled to take place at or near D.L. Bliss State Park, Carnelian Bay, Kings Beach, Incline Village, Diamond Peak Ski Resort area, Glenbrook, upper and lower Kingsbury Grade and south and east of the Lake Tahoe Airport.

South Shore
Lake Tahoe Airport - 6 acres. Planned ignition 11/13, 3 days of production.

Sunset Stables - 10 acres. Planned ignition 11/14, 5 days of burn down time.
Lower Kingsbury - 6 acres. Planned ignition 11/15, 3 days of production.
Upper Kingsbury - 3 acres. Planned ignition 11/15, 1 day of production.

West Shore
D.L. Bliss State Park - 25 acres. Ignition 11/6 and to go for 2 weeks.

East Shore
Glenboork - 4 acres. Ignition was 11/10, 3 days of production.

North Shore
Carnelian Bay - 22 acres. Ignition 11/11, 2 days of ignition.
Kings Beach - 40 acres. Ignition 11/11, 2 days of ignition.
West side of First Creek drainage - 25 acres. Ignition 11/13, 2 days of burn down time.
East side of First Creek drainage - 1 acres. Ignition 11/13, 2 days of burn down time.
Champagne Road - 9 acres. Ignition 11/13, 2 days of burn down time.
Diamond Peak Ski Resort - 25 acres. Ignition 11/13, 2 days of burn down time.

View a map with project locations and details at http://www.tahoefft.org. Smoke may be visible. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.

When weather and conditions allow, prescribed fire operations are conducted to reduce excess vegetation that can feed wildland fires. After nearly a century of fire exclusion in the Sierra Nevada, prescribed fire re-introduces fire back onto the landscape, which helps restores vital ecosystem functions and improves forest health and resiliency.

Fall and winter bring cooler temperatures and precipitation, which favor prescribed burning. Each prescribed fire operation follows a specialized 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.

Agencies coordinate closely with local county and state air pollution control districts and monitor weather conditions carefully prior to prescribed fire ignitions. They wait for favorable conditions that will carry smoke up and out of the basin. Crews also conduct test burns before igniting larger areas, to verify how effectively fuels are consumed and how smoke will travel. When conditions meet the prescription, state and local air pollution control districts issue a burn permit allowing operations to proceed.

Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignition depending on the project size and environmental conditions. Prescribed fire smoke is generally less intense and of much shorter duration than smoke produced by a wildland fire. Smoke sensitive individuals are encouraged to reduce their exposure by staying indoors if they are in a smoke affected area.

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. The TFFT gives as much advance notice as possible before burning, but some operations may be conducted on short notice.
For more information about prescribed fire and smoke management tips, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/RxFireOps.