us forest service

Two more vacant lots in South Lake Tahoe have been added to the increasing cache of land the U.S. Forest Service has accumulated to preserve for public use.

These two lots are 3.13 acres each and located on Tahoe Mountain. They purchased one with great lake views for $135,000 and a second one for $100,000. This second lot is adjacent to the new hiking and mountain biking trail that begins on Deveron Way.

Sixteen local, state and federal agencies were recognized during Tuesday's Lake Tahoe Summit.

A proclamation signed by by Senators Dianne Feinstein, Dean Heller and Harry Reid, Representatives Mark Amodei and Tom McClintock and Governors Jerry Brown and Brian Sandoval honored the release of the Multi-Jurisdiciont Fuel Reduction and Wildfire Prevention Strategy.

The original strategy, finalized in 2007, has successfully guided wildfire risk reduction projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Crews have been working on an underground stormwater system in the Bijou area of South Lake Tahoe. The work is causing both Fairway Drive and Bal Bijou Road to have detours during the week but open and no controls on weekends.

Work is wrapping up with the installation of a box culvert for Bijou Creek and work is now focused on new curbing and inlets. The Bal Bijou storm drain system will be connected at US 50 next week, with curb installation to follow.

Several agencies are coming together on Saturday, June 21st for the first Wildfire Safety Expo in South Lake Tahoe.

The threat of wildfire is extremely high this fire season due to record drought conditions in the West. To provide information on creating home evacuation plans, preparing for fire, creating defensible space, the expo has been created.

The expo will be held in the TJ Maxx parking lot from noon to 3 p.m.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit began a mastication project last week on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe off of Fairway Drive near Tahoe City.

The project will eliminate material left behind after thinning for fuels reduction and involves using a masticator, which is a large lawn-mower type of heavy equipment that runs over debris and chops it up into smaller pieces.

A management plan that will guide management of National Forest System lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin over the next 15 years has been worked on over the last decade. The creation of the plan took the concerns and values of many different groups and citizens as to how Forest Service lands in the basin should be managed.

A webinar to explain the final Land Management Plan that will guide the management of National Forest System lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin over the next 15 years will be held by the U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday, January 14 at 2 pm.

The hour long webinar will explain the plan, highlight changes from the draft, and outline the remainder of the plan revision process and include a brief presentation, followed by a question and answer period. The webinar will be archived on the LTBMU website for later viewing.

Everyone is invited to check out progress on the Upper Truckee River Restoration Project in a U.S. Forest Service field trip on Friday, October 25, 2013 at 5 p.m.

The project will replace the existing stream channel with a new channel that is more stable and is connected to the adjacent floodplain, which will provide a better aquatic habitat, support a healthier meadow ecosystem, and reduce the amount of fine sediment that reaches Lake Tahoe.

A single engine Mooney airplane crashed shortly after take off from the South Lake Tahoe airport at approximately 11:10 AM today.

The plane was observed by numerous witnesses begin to lose altitude after take off, and bank sharply into a wooded area east of the airport. The plane crashed into some large pine trees and flipped over.

The male pilot, Steven Lefton 67 years of age of Palo Alto, CA was killed on impact. His wife, Karen Lefton sustained moderate injuries and was pinned in the wreckage of the plane.

Lake Tahoe fire protection agencies all agree: defensible space isn’t a bunch of hot air. To back up the importance of defensible space, they’re organizing a free Wildfire Awareness Week kick-off event that includes free tethered Smokey Bear hot air balloon rides (weather permitting), firefighter photo opportunities, a pancake breakfast and more on Saturday, May 25th from 8am – 12pm outside MontBleu Resort Casino and Spa.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has partnered with federal, state and local agencies to launch "Tahoe in Depth" a new Lake Tahoe Basin environmental newspaper.

Mailed to every Lake Tahoe Basin property owner this week, the free publication is designed to keep Lake Tahoe homeowners, residents and visitors abreast of the wide variety of activities taking place to protect and restore the Lake Tahoe Basin.

It has been a very busy week for the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit. Numerous backcountry visitors were caught off guard with the arrival of this weekend’s inclement weather.
Approximately 60 SAR volunteers along with four Sheriff’s deputies responded to 11 different deployments between Friday and Wednesday. Nine of the SAR events were within the borders of El Dorado County while two were in Alpine County.

El Dorado County Sheriff D’Agostini has created a new position and assigned a full time deputy sheriff to patrol the Rubicon Trail, 40 hours every week, during the OHV season. In the past most of the staffing for the Rubicon Trail was on overtime, and was limited by grant funds.

Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Week runs through June 3. A Webinar Series on developing fire adapted communities at Lake Tahoe has been launched. Communities located in fire-prone area are fire adapted when they require little assistance from firefighters during a wildfire. Residents accept responsibility for living in a high fire-hazard area. They possess the knowledge and skills to prepare their homes and property to survive wildfire and they know how to evacuate early, safely and effectively.

With the theme "your home, your responsibility" the third Lake Tahoe Basin Wildfire Awareness Week begins Saturday, May 26 and will continue through June 3. The focus of the week is to promote homeowner and resident actions that reduce the risk from wildfire to homes and communities.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is encouraging local residents and part-time homeowners to become “wildfire aware” by taking advantage of public education activities during Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Week happening May 26 to June 3.

“With the fifth anniversary of the Angora fire coming up, this is a good opportunity for our community to discuss the importance of wildfire awareness,” said Joanne Marchetta, Executive Director of TRPA.

Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are announcing a new pilot study to determine the possibility of creating backcountry access gates permitting on-snow travel between Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.

By Lisa Herron
U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews are scheduled to resume prescribed fire operations on the south side of the intersection of Pioneer Trail and U.S. Highway 50 in the community of Meyers near South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, Nov, 30, weather permitting.

By Lisa Herron
U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews are scheduled to resume prescribed fire operations in the Angora fire area near Mule Deer Circle on Wednesday, Nov. 2, weather permitting. Operations may continue through the weekend.

By Cheva Heck
U.S. Forest Service fire and fuels management crews will be conducting prescribed fire operations in the Andria Drive area off Kingsbury Grade in Stateline, Nev., through the rest of the week. If conditions allow, the Forest Service also may resume operations in the Angora area, focusing on the area below Angora Ridge Rd. and west of Mule Deer Circle. The number of acres will depend on weather conditions and other factors.

Squaw Valley USA, the iconic Lake Tahoe-area resort that has been home to some of the country’s top downhill skiers, is joining operations with neighboring Alpine Meadows. See story here. Here is the official press release dated today: