Basin fire operations to continue on North Shore next week

If conditions are favorable, the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. They will take place on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe near Tahoe City, Kings Beach, Carnelian Bay, and Incline Village.

A) Jennifer/Tyner Urban Fuels Reduction area near Incline Village will have 34 acres of hand piles scheduled to be burned.

B) Tahoe City along Fairway, across from NTFPD Station 51 - 8 acres to be burned.

C) Hwy 267 has 50 acres schedule for burning.

D) 30 acres near Carnelian Woods will be burned.

To view a map with project locations and details, visit the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) website at http://www.tahoefft.org.

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.

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.

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. Smoke sensitive individuals are encouraged to reduce their exposure by staying indoors if they are in a smoke affected area. For more information about prescribed fire and smoke management tips, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/RxFireOps.
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