firefighters

It took South Lake Tahoe firefighters just 15 minutes to put out an early morning fire in the Sierra Tract neighborhood that caused one minor injury and claimed the lives of two dogs that lived in the house.

The emergency call came into dispatch at 1:32 a.m. Thursday, April 30. Nine units responded from the South Lake Tahoe, Cal Fire, Lake Valley Fire and Tahoe Douglas Fire departments with a total of 16 personnel. Once the fire was under control, Tahoe Douglas units were released to cover the city while others stayed on scene for over two hours to clean up the scene.

Due to the rising cost of education in the country, more students are finding the value in the California Community College system. In fact, community colleges in California make up the largest system of higher education in the United States with 2.1 million students on 112 campuses.

With statistics like this, the recognition given to Lake Tahoe Community College this week show how unique the local school is now that LTCC has made the list of "Top Community Colleges in California."

Living in the midst of the fourth consecutive year of drought in the Sierra Nevada brings with it a responsibility to become fire adapted. While the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) consistently thins forests, conducts prescribed burns and defensible space programs to reduce wildfire risk, they need the public's help to create Fire Adapted Communities at Lake Tahoe

An illegal campfire at Granite Lake in Desolation Wilderness started a wildfire on Tuesday according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). With the lack of a deep snowpack and high winds in the area this week, the fire could have easily spread had it not been for the quick response by USFS firefighters.

Illegal and unattended campfires cause over 90 percent of wildfires in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Fire managers are concerned about the impact from illegal campfires as we are in our fourth year of drought and forest conditions are already as dry as they would be in June.

Aided by rainfall, firefighters were taking control of a forest fire that destroyed about 40 homes in the Eastern Sierra near Mammoth Mountain.

Crews had the blaze about 65% contained by Sunday, nearly two days after a blaze whipped by winds tore into the towns of Swall Meadows and Paradise, with about 250 inhabitants. The towns are about 25 miles southeast of the Mammoth Mountain ski resort, near U.S. Highway 395.

The main problem now is more than four dozen downed power lines and damaged trees, making conditions too hazardous to lift mandatory evacuation orders in the area.

The Sugar Pine Foundation of Lake Tahoe has asked Santa for a $5,000 gift this year. That is the amount needed to plant and restore sugar pines in recent California wildfires.

The giant Pinus lambertiana (sugar pine trees) are shown uphill from these firefighters in the photo.

Sugar pines are the world's largest species of pine with the longest cones - and they are dying from white pine blister rust, a non-native, invasive fungus. Though they historically accounted for 25% of Lake Tahoe's forests, sugar pines now make up less than 5% of the forest composition.

A small house fire on Marjorie Street Sunday night brought out several emergency vehicles. Lights and flares could be seen behind the American Legion and adjacent to the Tahoe Trout Farm.

According to a police officer at the scene, the fire was contained to the house and there were no injuries. The closest fire hydrant was by American Gasoline so firefighters had to lay down hose several hundred feet to get to the fire.

A four year degree program could be in Lake Tahoe Community College's near future. They are waiting to hear from the California Community College's Chancellor's office to see if they are one of the 15 community colleges in the state who will be allowed the opportunity to offer one four-year degree.

LTCC's Baccalaureate Degree Steering Committee submitted a proposal to the Chancellor's office and should hear on January 21, 2015 if they are going to be offering a four-year degree in Public Safety Administration.

Highway 80 has been reopened to four lanes this evening as firefighters continue to fight the Applegate Fire which had caused three lanes to be closed since Wednesday.

It is still unknown how the fire started but it has been listed as suspicious in nature. The fire has burned 420 acres as of Thursday evening and is now 25% contained. Firefighters worked in steep and rugged terrain to get the containment line in place. There are 1,419 personnel on the scene with air tanker support from the U.S. Forest Service.

The Forest Service announced today that they are re-opening some popular recreation areas near the King Fire area. The Rubicon Jeep Trail, Wrights Lake, Desolation Wilderness and the east side of Ice House Road are now open to the public.

“Although fire crews have nearly contained the King Fire, it is still active, and there are a lot of firefighting resources still in the area,” said Laurence Crabtree, the USFS Forest Supervisor. “I intend to open more of the Forest to the public as soon as it is safe to do so.”

9/29/14 update: Heavy precipitation over the weekend allowed firefighters to achieve 90 percent containment of the Cascade Fire near Snow Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. Crews will begin repairing impacts from fire suppression activities and will monitor the fire to detect any renewed activity later this week due to drier, warmer and windier conditions.

Bayview Trailhead and Campground and TaylorCreek Sno-Park on Hwy. 89 have reopened. The cause of the 20-acre fire is under investigation, but it has been determined to be human-caused.

South Tahoe Now was informed at 9:30 p.m. Saturday that there was a fire burning in a double wide trailer located at 1314 Melba Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

No further details at this moment as firefighters are still on the scene fighting the structure fire, but residents nearby say the fire is out.

Over 4,016 firefighters have been gaining ground on three major Northern California fires burning in the Sierra.

The Bald Fire is now 91% contained. It had burned 39,926 acres as of 7 p.m. Thursday. According to incident command, there was mostly minimal fire behavior today as smoldering stumpholes and 1,000 hour fuels continue to consume. Isolated interior islands showed moderate rates of spread and some individual torching.The fire is expected to be contained by Friday.

7/29/14 11:30 p.m. update: The El Portal Fire burning near Yosemite is now 34% contained. Firefighters gained good ground on all sides of the fire except for the northern portion which has caused concern for fire officials. Steep, rugged terrain continues to challenge the efforts of firefighters but progress is being made. The weather forecast calls for continued high temperatures reaching as high as 100 degrees near El Portal.

At this point in time 3,545 acres have burned. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

7/30/14 update: Firefighters are getting the upper hand on a wildfire north of the town of Plymouth. All evacuation orders have been lifted.

So far, 4,240 acres have burned as well as 19 homes and 47 outbuildings. The fire did not spread overnight. The increase in reported acreage burned is due to a precise GPS mapping.

According to Cal Fire, patrol and mop-up of the fire will continue for several days. Rugged terrain and hot, dry weather conditions in addition to hazards associated with mines within the fire area continue to be a challenge for firefighters.

Lake Tahoe Community College has selected Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District Chief Ben Sharit as its Distinguished Alumni Award winner for 2014.

7:45 pm update: According to Eric Guevin, Tahoe Douglas Fire District's Fire Marshall, the cause of the fire by Kingsbury Middle School was human caused and is under investigation. Due to quick response by the Zephyr Fire Crew and Tahoe Douglas Firefighters, along with favorable weather, the fire only burned a 50' x 50' area. A resident in the area, Dr. Jeff Behar, rode his bike to the scene when he saw the smoke and found the crews distinguishing the fire and provided South Tahoe Now with photos.

In order to create defensible apace from wildfires, members of Temple Bat Yam, Lake Valley Fire Protection District and the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department held a community clean-up day for the property around the synagogue on May 18, 2014.

The collaborative effort is an example of working together to produce Fire Adapted Communities, which are communities located in fire-prone areas that require little assistance from firefighters during a wildfire.

If you're interested in scheduling a Wildfire Prevention effort in your neighborhood, call the SLTFD at 530-542-6160.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District recently held a recognition and promotional ceremony at MontBleu Resort.

Fourteen firefighters were recognized with service awards, including 20 year veterans Battalion Chief Jim Antti and Captain Chuck Salerno.

“Fire Chief Ben Sharit challenged 20 new firefighters and staff members to continue the important work we do every day in our community,” says Eric Guevin, Fire Marshal spokesperson for the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District.

All active duty, reservists, National Guard and veterans will receive complimentary tickets to the 25th Annual American Celebrity Golf Championship in South Lake Tahoe July 15-20.

The free tickets are being offered in appreciation of their service to the country.

They’ve been called unpleasant names that can’t be printed. They’ve received death threats. For a few days one may even assume they were hated. That was then.

They’re being called courageous. They’re being called heroes. They’re being thanked for caring about our environment and bringing the effect of fireworks in the lake to the forefront. That is now.

A day of food, family and fun benefiting local firefighters, veterans and LTWC. Live music all day featuring: Adient Zoo, Groovebox, Black Star Safari, 3-piece puzzle, Hot sticky mess, Deep Fryed Mojo and many more! Dog friendly, beer & wine garden, free bike valet, food vendors & BBQ, tons of free door prizes, games and contests for humans and dogs!

Free entry for local firefighters (+2 guests for half price). All profits donated to Father's House Ministries, dedicated to the rehabilitation of our veterans, LTWC and South Lake Tahoe Fire Department.

The Rim Fire continues to affect South Lake Tahoe as winds change from the South/Southwest and bring smoke into the basin. Saturday's clear blue skies have now become grey, a combination of smoke and a weather system that will bring isolated thunderstorms to the region today.

Firefighters gained a lot of ground on the fire in the last 24 hours and now have it listed at 60% contained. The Rim Fire is now the 4th largest in California's history and the largest in the U.S. in 2013.

CAL FIRE PIO Berlant, @CALFIRE_PIO - California Statewide Fire Summary: Nearly 8,000 firefighters remain on the frontlines as nearly a dozen major wildfires continue to burn. Yesterday, CAL FIRE crews contained the Swedes Fire that burned in Butte County, just as a new fire ignited on the Fort Hunter Liggett Military Installation.