fires

A series of fires along the South Shore of Lake Tahoe are still under investigation and have caused some concern among residents. The most recent one, on Tuesday, burned a portion of grass at Rabe Meadow near Kahle Drive at Stateline.

The fire, which burned a patch 30 feet by 40 feet, was reported at 10:13 a.m. Both Tahoe Douglas Fire Department and the US Forest Service responded.

Firefighters continue to fight 13 blazes across the state of California, which have now burned almost 209,000 acres. That is 326.5 square miles of land burned in the state from current fires, not counting those that have since been extinguished.

The burned area is larger than the City of New York.

The largest fire, the Soberanes Fire near Big Sur, has burned 92,314 acres as is now 60 percent contained.

Calaveras County's Willow Fire is the closest to South Lake Tahoe. It started on Saturday and has burned 450 acres and is 30 percent contained.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and other area fire departments have responded to several illegal cooking fires in homeless encampments this summer, some which have spread to burn up to several hundred feet.

The cause of the July 19 fires behind the power station by the Heavenly Gondola and in the Trout Creek area behind Ross are still under investigation, but sources have said they were both most likely started by illegal campfires. Fire crews also responded to transient camp fires on July 27 and August 8 as well as several illegal cooking fires.

The fires responsible for sending smoke into the Lake Tahoe Basin and Northern Nevada have burned 47,876 acres since being started by lightning strikes on Friday morning.

Known as the Virginia Mountains Complex, the five separate wildland fires include the Anderson (13,196 acres), Sage (4,238 acres), Seven Lakes (3,063 acres), Rock (2,293 acres) and Tule (27,379 acres) Fires. All are burning on mostly BLM land within about 20 miles of each other in an arc about 35 miles north of Reno.

Four separate fires are burning north of Reno, sending smoke throughout Northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe basin.

The Virginia Mountains Complex is made up currently of four separate wildland fires, including the Anderson (5626 acres), Sage (4239 acres), Seven Lakes (3063 acres) and Tule (7267 acres) Fires. All of these lightning-caused fires are burning within about 20-miles of each other in an arc about 35-miles north of Reno.

The vast majority of the public lands burning are administered by the Bureau of Land Management-Carson City District.

Smoke has moved into the Lake Tahoe basin and Northern Nevada, causing concern among those looking at the sky this morning.

According to South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston, the smoke is most likely from the Soberanes Fire burning near Big Sur in Monterey County. The National Weather Service in Reno believes the same.

No fires are burning near Lake Tahoe or Reno.

As of 7:00 a.m. Monday, the Soberanes Fire has consumed 14,897 acres is 5 percent contained.

Whittell High graduate Jake O'Malley was one of the two wildland firefighters killed in a single vehicle accident on July 10.

As part of O'Malley's duties while based in Winnemucca, Nevada was to patrol for fires, and it was while doing this when his vehicle crashed, killing both Jake and his roommate, Will Hawkins of Reno. A third occupant was hospitalized and has since been released.

Hot and dry weather will continue in the region according to the National Weather Service, but with the warm temperatures and low humidity comes a "Fire Weather Warning."

NWS is forecasting gusty winds and high fire danger on Sunday and Monday and they are urging extreme caution, especially near dry grass and brush.

Gusty winds and waves up to 3 feet will produce hazardous conditions for boating, kayaking and paddle boarding. Calm lake conditions in the morning can quickly turn dangerous once the winds kick up, so remember to always wear your personal flotation device.

Last summer, South Lake Tahoe was one of the home bases for two Bombardier CL415 firefighting aircraft known as "Super Scoopers," and as of this weekend, they are back again.

The two planes are part of national firefighting efforts, so can be moved at any time depending on needs. They arrived from fighting fires in Alaska, and find the Lake Tahoe area a good base since close to areas susceptible to fire. They are prioritized on a daily basis by the National Interagency Fire Center.

Depending on where you live on the South Shore, you may be able to have a wood fire in your outdoor fire pit, or, maybe not.

Restrictions differ between Tahoe Douglas Fire Department and the City of South Lake Tahoe and Lake Valley Fire Departments.

Cal Fire and the U.S Forest Service also have fire regulations to be aware of.

June is wildfire awareness month at Lake Tahoe. And nine years later, the 2007 Angora Fire remains a vivid remember that wildfire is one of the greatest threats facing our environment, our homes, and our businesses. We must prepare accordingly.

Our region continues to take important steps to manage that wildfire threat, improve the health of our forests, and create fire adapted communities that are prepared for the next wildfire at Tahoe. But there is more work to do.

The hot, dry days of summer will soon be upon us. Preparing your home for wildfire is more important than ever. And now is a good time to get started. June is “Wildfire Awareness Month” in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and members of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team are asking all Tahoe residents and visitors to “Think First to Keep Tahoe Fire Safe”

Sunday night's honey oil lab explosion in a South Lake Tahoe home could have been much, much worse. Neighboring homes could have burned, people could have died.

While the incident on Plum Street is still under investigation by the South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team (SLEDNET), and few details have been released, the subject is one of not only local concern, but one of national concern.

The Sheriff’s Team of Active Retirees (S.T.A.R.) Program in El Dorado County is looking to bolster their volunteer corps. STAR is comprised of senior citizens who are utilized to enhance vital crime prevention services in the community. The STARs conduct patrols in specially marked STAR vehicles, functioning as the eyes and ears of the Sheriff’s Department, reporting any suspicious activity observed. The S.T.A.R. Program is a Crime Prevention Program exercising proactive law enforcement principles.

Benjamin Cunha, 33, of Placerville, was sentenced Tuesday, February 23, 2016 to five years in prison for arson after being found guilty of setting at least 30 wildland fires during the summers of 2006 and 2007.

Two of these fires burned onto federal land. Cunha indicated that his motivation for setting the fires was to overcome boredom, to earn overtime pay for fighting the fires, and to impress his peers.

United States District Judge John A. Mendez also ordered Cunha to pay $246,862 in restitution to Cal Fire, his former employer.

If you live in Nevada, chances are you felt an earthquake in 2015. The University of Nevada, Reno's Seismological Laboratory said there were 17,500 earthquakes in the state during the year, 231 of those recently in south Reno.

South Tahoe High graduate Graham Kent in the director of the Nevada Seismological Lab. "While the Reno shaking is fresh in our minds, what's really bumping the number up from the background rates is the energetic sequence in far northwestern Nevada, the Sheldon sequence," he said.

In a move that will save the city money as well as increase staffing, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue added 12 new Emergency Medical Services (EMS) specialists to their staff on December 14.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue is now the only fire department in the Tahoe basin to have three firefighters on each engine at all times and two EMS specialists in the ambulance.

Winter is here and that means more family and friend gatherings inside the home. Whether in the kitchen, near the fireplace or stove, it’s always a good idea to brush up on home safety tips.

Before we gather around the fireplace or stove, remember these important safety tips:

• Have a qualified professional install stoves, chimney connectors, and chimneys.
• Stoves should have the label of an independent testing laboratory.
• In wood stoves, burn only dry, seasoned wood. In pellet stoves, burn only dry, seasoned wood pellets.

While many may hike past Lily Lake to get to a myriad of trails going through Desolation Wilderness, I took the trail to go the historic Glen Alpine Springs. Even though my walk was mid-day on October 13, I passed many other hikers on the two-mile hike, all enjoying the warm, un-fall like weather.

Even though I've lived in South Lake Tahoe for 36 years, I'd never gone past Lily Lake. Wanting to get to the springs before winter, there was no time like the present to finally accomplish that task!

It's once again the season to enjoy a fire in our fireplaces and wood burning stoves, but that also means it's time again to remind everyone how to dispose of the resulting ashes.

It is very dangerous to dispose of fireplace, wood stove or barbecue ashes in improper containers and locations. Since 2014 there has been one structure fire, multiple dumpster fires and one deck fire due in South Lake Tahoe due to improperly disposed of ashes. When you add in Douglas and El Dorado counties, that number gets much higher.

The Butte Fire near Jackson, CA continues to burn but is now 74% contained. So far, 70,760 acres have burned. The destructive and deadly fire destroyed 545 homes and 356 outbuildings, as well as damaging another 42 structures. Two civilians have died in the fire.

Cal Fire is holding two community information meetings, one in each affected county. (Amador County) Monday, September 21, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. The Call Church; 18400 Ridge Road, Pine Grove, CA 95665.

There is a chance of thunderstorms and rain in South Lake Tahoe on Sunday, how big of a chance differs between forecasters though. Accuweather is calling for a 60% chance of thunderstorms and rain in South Lake Tahoe, mainly between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Expected amounts of precipitation are small though, with .04 inches forecast.

The National Weather Service in Reno says the chance for isolated thunder and rain is 20% for both Sunday and Monday.

Expect smoke to remain in the Lake Tahoe basin until the weather conditions change.

Winds the are continuing to move smoke from the 85,894 acre Rough Fire burning outside of Fresno, CA into the Lake Tahoe Basin this weekend.

There are 1,967 personnel currently assigned to the fire and containment has now been increased to 31%. It is burning in the mountains between Fresno and Independence, CA.

Expect smoke to continue filling the Lake Tahoe basin on Saturday and, depending on the wind, into next week. Over the past few days, winds have pushed smoke from wildfires in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest into the Lake Tahoe Basin as well as nearby Truckee Meadows.

On Friday afternoon, air quality levels in Reno were in the range of "unhealthy for sensitive groups" to "unhealthy" but South Lake Tahoe fared much better with quality range in the "good" range. For the next six days, air is expected to stay in "moderate" range on the South Shore.