Prescribed burns to continue in Lake Tahoe basin

North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service have scheduled widespread prescribed fire operations the week of December 13, 2015.

Expect to see smoke from the prescribed burns in the following areas:

On the West Shore, off Elizabeth Drive north of Tahoma.

On the South Shore, northwest of Fallen Leaf Lake, off Lake Tahoe Boulevard near Twin Peaks, off South Upper Truckee Road near Meyers and on Kingsbury Grade.

On the East Shore, off Logan Creek Drive, north and south of Glenbrook, north of Spooner Lake and near Thunderbird Lodge.

Operations may continue over the next several weeks as weather and conditions allow.

To view a map with project locations and details, visit http://www.tahoefft.org. 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 listed above or 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.

Before conducting prescribed fire operations, 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.