us forest service

Many who have camped in South Lake Tahoe at the City owned Campground by the Lake have said they love the campground, but hate the reservation system.

That experience is about to change and duties of reservations, and cancellations, will soon be handled by Reserve America. This nationwide company handles reservations for 289 federal properties, 42 state, 23 county and 23 private campgrounds according to their website.

As one storm leaves Lake Tahoe, the next one is waiting to enter, and forecasters say the new one could dump up to two feet of snow at lake level over the next two days.

A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning when the winter storm warning starts, and stays in place until 4:00 a.m. Thursday, January 5.

Expect widespread snow showers throughout the day on Tuesday, with snow becoming heaving at time this afternoon and all day Wednesday.

8:00AM update 10/15: Highway 89 remains closed in both directions from Fallen Leaf Lake Road to Emerald Bay due to the Emerald Fire which remains 80 percent contained this morning. Acreage burned is 210 acres.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

There are 3 engines and 12 firefighters still on the scene.

Opening time for Hwy 89 is still unclear. CHP estimates Saturday afternoon and Caltrans estimates the road will be closed until Monday. This is to allow crews to clean up the fallen trees and other debris on, and near, the roadway.

A fire near Spooner Lake brought out multiple agencies and the two SuperScoopers staying at the Lake Tahoe Airport Tuesday afternoon, but the quick response kept the fire at just over 1/2 acre before being contained.

With Red Flag conditions existing at the time, engines and crews from the US Forest Service, Cal Fire, Tahoe Douglas Fire, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and BLM all responded to the Spooner Lake State Park after receiving the call at 3:58 p.m.

Join other Off-Highway Vehicle enthusiasts and fans to help plan the content for the McKinney Rubicon kiosk at a meeting held by the US Forest Service on Thursday, September 22 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Forest Supervisor's Office at 35 College Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

The eighth fire in ten days broke out early Wednesday morning in South Lake Tahoe, this time on Edna Street near Pioneer Trail. Just under one-half of an acre of National Forest Service land burned in the 12:30 a.m. fire which burned a short distance away from Friday's Ralph Drive fire.

Firefighters from US Forest Service, South Lake Tahoe, Lake Valley and Cal Fire all responded and got the fire under control quickly, and had the area contained with a wet line by 6:46 a.m.

Here is a breakdown of the recent fires:

The stretch of Highway 50 from Stateline to Spooner Summit (known as the corridor) will be looked at in the near future to address numerous safety concerns from cars parked on the side to unsafe intersections.

At the last meeting of the Tahoe Transportation District Board of Directors, several residents spoke up about safety, and offered several ideas to correct the issues.

Valhalla wraps up their annual summer festival with two concerts in the Boathouse Theater on August 24 and 31. The Valhalla Art, Music and Theatre Festival is Lake Tahoe’s premier summer long festival of world class live music, theatre, visual and cultural arts, bring a wide range of activities to the historic estate.

Wednesday, August 24 at 7:30 p.m.

Join Tahoe Heritage Foundation and the US Forest Service at Taylor Creek Visitor Center for this Friday's Evening Program: Astronomy at Taylor Creek with Fleischmann Planetarium! July 22nd at 8:30 pm at the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater. This event is open to the public and is a $5.00 donation to the Tahoe Heritage Foundation.

8:30 p.m. update: East Fork Fire Protection responded to a wildland fire at around noon today. The fire was in the Pine Nut Range near the Ruby Mine area. The fire was a slow growth fire and has been mostly contained. The majority of the fire appears to be on private property.

Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service and Nevada Department of Forestry all assisted with suppression efforts. The efforts are winding down, resources are being released from the fire and the crews are in the mop up stage.

Join Tahoe Heritage Foundation and the US Forest Service for the Friday Evening Program Summer series. This Friday July 8, Tracy Salcedo-Chourre, author of Best Easy Day Hikes Lake Tahoe, as she shares her knowledge of the amazing hiking trails around Lake Tahoe. This event will be held at Taylor Creek Visitor Center at 8:30 p.m. and is open to the public. There is a $5.00 donation to the Tahoe Heritage Foundation.

A free summit in South Lake Tahoe this weekend will bring biking enthusiasts together under one roof for seminars, movies, food and drink. There will also be rides and the showcasing of local trail renaissance during the event which begins on Friday, May 6 and ends with a breakfast and Mother's Day family ride.

The public is invited to attend any, or all, parts of the inaugural Tahoe Trails Summit "Trails of Tahoe Today and Tomorrow" which will be held at the Tahoe Beach Retreat.

The U.S. Forest Service and California Tahoe Conservancy will be finishing their fourth and final year of creating a new channel for the Upper Truckee River near the South Lake Tahoe airport. To accomplish their final tasks, the meadow and river will be closed to the public for much of the summer in order to divert the water into the new channel, relocate fish and mussels, and finish up vegetation projects.

Prescribed fire operations are scheduled to continue around the Lake Tahoe Basin on Monday, March 21, weather permitting.

The areas on the map scheduled to be burned, weather permitting:

A) Burton Creek State Park between North Tahoe High School and Rocky Ridge Properties, 35 acres of hand piles to be burned by California State Parks starting 3/21/16.
B) Sugar Pine Point State Park - Hwy 89 across from General Creek Campground, 12 acres to be burned by California State Parks starting 3/21/16.

Last week we had the opportunity to attend a field trip at Heavenly Mountain Resort. Thanks to a grant written by STEEC member, Devin Middlebrook (TRPA Environmental Education Specialist), EPIC Promise (through Vail Resorts – Heavenly) covered the cost of transportation, lift tickets for the tram ride, use of snowshoes, and presenters. The day was well planned and all went smoothly.

We learned much about our environment including local animals, avalanche safety and snowmaking. And luckily we enjoyed a “blue bird” day at the top of the tram!

Joy Barney has dedicated her life to connecting youth to the land. In the process she has touched many lives, so it comes as no surprise that winning a national award for her, is all about inspiring others.

8:00 a.m. update 10/12/15: Authorities spent Sunday removing parts of the plane that remained in trees surrounding the crash site that claimed the lives of two people in South Lake Tahoe.

Investigators say the plane hit trees before crashing behind a home on Tionontati Street just before 5:36 p.m. Saturday, October 10. A fire started which scorched the home.

The force of the crash broke a large tree just feet away from the house.

There will be an escorted processional from South Lake Tahoe to Placerville on Thursday to honor 21-year-old Mikey Hallenbeck. The young U.S. Forest Service firefighter, and Sierra-at-Tahoe employee, died while fighting his very first fire on Saturday

The U.S. Forest Service and cooperating fire agencies will escort Hallenbeck from the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe to his final resting place. The procession will start at approximately 10 a.m. and proceed westbound on Highway 50 up Echo Summit, through Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, down to Placerville. It is expected to end at 2 p.m.

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.

Twice in the last week, people flying drones disrupted wildfire operations in Southern California, causing federal, state and local wildfire managers to come out with a warning to the public, "Do not fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) within or near wildfires."

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.

As South Lake Tahoe prepares to host Stages 1 & 2 of the AMGEN Tour of California Women's Race on May 8-9, people are working throughout the community, preparing for all of the events surrounding the world class cycling event.

There is a VIP reception and team presentation at Riva Grill on Thursday, May 7 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

In addition to the burn sites already announced for burning this week, the US Forest Service will perform fire operations north of Emerald Bay.

They plan to start igniting 96 acres on Tuesday, January 27. The burn and down time is expected to take ten days.

Smoke may be visible from Incline, Kings Beach and East Shore Communities.

The New Year brings big changes both for me personally and for the Forest Service in Lake Tahoe. After 37 years with the agency, I’m looking forward to retirement and handing over the reins at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to a new Forest Supervisor.

I’m grateful for steady Basin leadership that has enhanced relationships making them stronger. Days of past tensions between conflicting interests have passed. Today, local agencies work closely together on solutions that protect our communities and our environment.