U.S. Forest Service

Join the Tahoe Heritage Foundation and the U. S. Forest Service at Lake at the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater on Friday, August 28 for a fun and educational presentation by Wild Things, Inc. Learn about the animals around the Lake Tahoe area with a LIVE animal presentation!

This live lecture is at Taylor Creek Visitor Center’s Lake the Sky Amphitheater at 7:00pm. It is open to the public and is a $5.00 donation to Tahoe Heritage Foundation.

More than 10,000 acres of scenic meadows, forests and trout streams in the Sierra Nevada 10 miles west of Lake Tahoe have been preserved in a deal in which environmentalists hope to prove that thinning out overgrown forests can increase California's water supply.

The Northern Sierra Partnership, an environmental group based in Palo Alto and founded by longtime Silicon Valley leaders Jim and Becky Morgan, joined with the Nature Conservancy and the American River Conservancy to buy the land for $10.1 million from Simorg West Forests, a timber company based in Atlanta.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors’ thoughts and prayers are with the Hallenbeck family for the loss of their son and brother, U.S. Forest Service Firefighter Michael “Mikey” Hallenbeck.

“Our hearts are saddened by the loss of Michael," said The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. "We are indebted to Michael for his service in keeping the citizens of El Dorado County safe. Thank you for your dedication to our community.”

Sierra-at-Tahoe will hold a candlelight vigil for Michael Hallenbeck on Wednesday, August 12 at 7 p.m. The 21-year old U.S. Forest Service firefighter lost his life on Saturday while fighting a lighting-caused fire south of Echo Summit.

Hallenbeck, known by friends and family as Mikey, was a Sierra-at-Tahoe employee for the past two seasons and a local firefighter for the U.S Forest Service.

“His flame burned bright,” friends speak of Hallenbeck. “Thank you for your
brave, courageous soul.” Hallenbeck is considered a local hero who could “make

An updated Lake Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan will be presented to the public during the Lake Tahoe Environmental Summit on Monday, August 24, 2015. This new Community Wildfire Protection Plan was collaboratively developed by the 18 member organizations of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) and is the culmination of a three-year planning effort.

Kyburz Fire 667 personnel. Lowell Fire 771 personnel. Washington Fire 1,113 personnel.

These recent fires in the forests near Lake Tahoe have had hundreds of fire fighters on the ground, digging fire lines, cutting down trees and putting out fires. It's not an easy job, the hours are sometimes endless or never enough. But those that do it, love it.

The U.S. Forest Service has been training the next front line of defense against forest fires.

Two fires, starting within minutes of each other on Saturday, are currently burning out of control in the Sierra Nevada.

9:30 p.m. update 7/26/15:

The Lowell Fire burning near the town of Alta off of I-80 in the Sierras has burned 1,500 acres and is now 15% contained.

Early this evening, two CAL FIRE and two U.S. Forest Service firefighters suffered burn injuries while battling the Lowell Fire in Nevada County. The firefighters were airlifted from the fire and transported to UC Davis Burn Center in Sacramento.

The final celebrity jets were taking off from South Lake Tahoe Tuesday, just as the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) welcomed in a Bombardier CL415 firefighting aircraft.

Nicknamed "Super Scooper" because it can scoop up 1,600 gallons of water from a lake and drop it on the front lines of a fire.

Join the Tahoe Heritage Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service at Lake of the Sky Amphitheater on Friday, July 24 for a fun and educational presentation by NorCal Bats. Learn about these amazing flying mammals and their importance to our ecosystem, such as insect control.

The live lecture is at Taylor Creek Visitor Center's Lake of the Sky Amphitheater at 8:30 p.m. It is open to the public. Cost is a $5 donation which goes to the Tahoe Heritage Foundation.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will resume work this week at Angora Creek near South Lake Tahoe. Crews will construct 700 feet of new stream channel to replace the existing Angora Creek channel, which was rerouted and straightened in the early 1900s to accommodate livestock grazing. Seneca Pond, constructed in 1964 when the area was under private ownership, will be returned to a wetland.

With illegal and unattended campfires the cause of over 90% of wildfires in the Lake Tahoe Basin, new fire restrictions go into place on July 1, 2015. Campfires and charcoal barbecues will be restricted to designated recreation sites, and other fire-related activities are prohibited until the end of fire season.

“Increased fire danger due to the ongoing drought combined with warmer and dryer weather is a big concern for the basin," said U.S. Forest Service fire management officer, Kit Bailey. "Fire restrictions help reduce the possibility of human caused fires.”

9:00 p.m. update:

This just in from the Douglas County Sheriff's Department: On June 27, 2015, at approximately 6:17 p.m., the East Fork Fire District in Douglas County responded to a report of several wildland fires along the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

There have been reports of six fires along the west side of the Carson Valley.

East Fork Fire, along with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have responded to the multiple fires and are working to access each of the fires.

Fire pits. The outdoor means to a perfect s'more and good conversation around a fire on a cool summer evening. But, in the midst of a drought are they safe? Are they legal when fire restrictions are in place?

There are three fire district jurisdictions just in South Lake Tahoe, along with the U.S. Forest Service, and they all have different rules concerning the backyard fire pit. One thing they all do share is for residents and visitors to be smart about fire and to not be careless.

6/21/15 4:45 p.m. update:

More details of Saturday's arrest have been released by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department.

As the pursuit of a car driven by 35-year-old Cory Pearson of Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe ended at the Tahoe Keys Marina, officers were able to establish a perimeter around his vehicle which had been reported stolen in Lakeland Village. Pearson yelled to officers that he was armed with a gun and threatened to use it if anyone approached. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) SWAT Team and Crisis Response Team were called to assist.

Locals and visitors can join #teamfireworks, a large effort to remove all debris from South Lake Tahoe's beaches following both the 4th of July and Labor Day fireworks shows.

Over 100,000 people enjoy the fireworks and anytime an area gets that many people, trash is sure to be an issue. Last year's beach clean was originally meant to make sure the debris from the actual fireworks was not left floating on the water or strewn along the beach. While not many parts of fireworks were found, hundreds of pounds of trash was collected.

The Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee (LTFAC) is scheduled to meet from 9 a.m. to noon, June 22, 2015, at the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Forest Supervisor’s office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 96150. LTFAC will address issues related to federal activities at Lake Tahoe.

Items on the agenda include an overview of committee history, review of committee charter, update on status of Lake Tahoe Restoration Act and Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, and discussion of Committee’s future strategy.

The Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS) in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will host the sixth annual Lake Tahoe Bird Festival on Saturday June 13, 2015 at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, located three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89.

Residents and visitors are invited to attend this free family event from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

The Sixth Annual Native Species Festival will be held at the Taylor Creek visitor Center in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, May 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This free family event is hosted by the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and is a great way to spend the day outdoors and learn about the native species of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The Visitor's Center is located three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89.

Heavenly Mountain Resort has received the final approval needed for its major expansion of on-mountain summer activities. After Vail Resorts gained approval from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) on March 27, they needed the blessing of the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board, which they received today.

The ongoing drought, warmer-than-usual weather conditions and the fuel for fire those conditions produce could lead to a “perfect storm” this summer where multiple states in the West could be having large, simultaneous fires, state and federal fire officials told Gov. Brian Sandoval Monday.

“The system is going to be heavily taxed this year,” said Kit Bailey of the U.S. Forest Service. “We have preparedness levels of one through five and I’m a little concerned that we may get to an unprecedented level, a level six, and that is kind of a worst-case scenario.

You may have noticed hazy skies in Lake Tahoe this weekend, and again today, but they aren't from any fires in the Sierra. The smoke is from catastrophic grassland fires in Siberia which have burned almost 800 square miles.

The Siberian Times is reporting the wind whipped blazes in Siberia have killed 33 people after farmers burned dried grass that got out of control. The damage was especially acute in Khakassia republic where 1,328 homes were destroyed or badly damaged, leaving 4.694 people without shelter, but the area around the city of Chita was also badly hit.

Permits for fuelwood are going on sale early this year due to anticipated fire restrictions which would prohibit cutting days this summer.

The permits go on sale Wednesday, April 15 at the U.S. Forest Service Supervisor's office located at 35 College Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

Climate experts are discussing what we can do for the future in the drought. A forum on Wednesday afternoon summarized the climate conditions for the entire Great Basin, and how they affect resources like agriculture and wildlife.

These forums are important because experts say climate not only has a big impact on our region, but experts say it also affects our economy.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations next week, beginning Monday, April 6, 2015, weather permitting. Operations are scheduled to take place in Blackwood Canyon between Tahoe City and Tahoma, on the south side of Meeks Bay, on Gardner Mountain near South Tahoe High School and off Gardner Street, in the Tahoe Keys, on Luther Pass near Grass Lake, at Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, on upper Kingsbury Grade and on the East Shore near Logan Creek Drive.