washington fire
Next generation of firefighters training in South Lake Tahoe
Submitted by paula on Mon, 10/26/2015 - 11:00pm
Some have jobs. Some have families. Some are recent high school graduates. Some are retired military. Some are college graduates. They are all future firefighters.
One month into the new school year, 33 men and women are part of the tenth class of firefighters being trained at the Lake Tahoe Community College's program, the Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy. This year's class started with 36 students, but some find out early on how physically demanding the program is and they find it isn't for them.
Training the next generation of wildland firefighters
Submitted by paula on Sun, 07/26/2015 - 12:56pm
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.
Mother Nature helping douse Washington Fire, now 99% contained
Submitted by paula on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 10:45pm
Heavy rains over the past 48 hours have given firefighters the help they needed to contain the Washington Fire burning south of Markleeville.
As of 5 p.m. on July 4, the lightning caused fire was 99% contained after burning 17,790 acres.
Fire crews will continue to construct the remaining fire line and mop up hot spots along the perimeter. A smaller contingency of firefighters and equipment will remain on the incident with the type 3 management organization while still meeting incident objectives as outlined in the transfer of command.
Mudslide closes Hwy 4 in burn area near Markleeville
Submitted by paula on Wed, 07/01/2015 - 10:12pm
Just a day after people celebrated the opening of highways through the Washington Fire area south of Markleeville, a mudslide has closed Highway 4 over Ebbetts Pass. The road is closed 2.4 miles south of town.
A strong thunderstorm formed over the northwest half of the fire Wednesday, bringing heavy rains and frequent lightning.
Roads open as Washington Fire is 66% contained
Submitted by paula on Tue, 06/30/2015 - 8:09pm
Cooler temperatures and an increase in humidity have allowed firefighters working on the Washington Fire to make good progress, getting a line around 66% of the fire area.
Burning since June 19 in the hilly terrain south of Markleville, the lightning caused fire has burned 17,790 acres.
Drought, fires and sage grouse dominate Western Governor’s meeting
Submitted by paula on Thu, 06/25/2015 - 9:50pm
The long-range forecast doesn’t bode well for the interior West as it chokes on a fourth year of drought and smoke from wildfires.
With the fire season ramping up and temperatures starting to soar, drought and fire dominated the discussion at the Western Governors’ Association annual meeting being held this week at Incline Village on the shores of Lake Tahoe.
Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has chaired the group for the past year, made drought his signature initiative, bringing together water experts and managers to develop best practices for water management and drought preparation.
Washington Fire now 56% contained; 17,787 acres burned
Submitted by paula on Tue, 06/23/2015 - 9:13pm
6:00 p.m. update 6/29/15
Firefighters made a lot of progress on the fire lines at the Washington Fire south of Markleeville on Monday, gaining containment of 56% of the perimeter. So far, 17,787 acres have burned.
The lightning caused fire grew quickly a week ago, from 30 acres on June 19 to 6,500 acres by June 21.
At one time, over 1,100 fire personnel were working on suppression of the fire. Those numbers were reduced today to 860 as containment grew.
Smoke starting to creep into Lake Tahoe basin
Submitted by paula on Tue, 06/23/2015 - 7:22pm
Firefighters on the Washington Fire lines south of Markleeville enjoyed lighter winds as they fought the flames on Tuesday, but the winds were just strong enough to push some smoke into the Lake Tahoe basin.
Temperatures near Markleeville were 81-85 degrees with winds in the fire area moving up slope/up valley at 5 mph to 10 mph. Ridge top winds were light in the morning.
Calm winds are expected for the rest of the week with temperatures in the 90s.
There is a slight chance for thunderstorms and showers through Monday, June 29.
Emergency preparedness: Are you ready for a fire?
Submitted by paula on Tue, 06/23/2015 - 5:52pm
Markleville residents are faced with the possibility of having to evacuate if the Washington Fire comes towards their town.
Skyland residents recently took part in a neighborhood fire drill, being told they had to evacuate their homes in 10 minutes.
What would yo take?
That plan should start now, before you are faced with that time of fear and panic.
Prepare a 'Disaster Preparedness Kit.' Items in this kit should last you and your family for three days:
Scheduled power outage in Markleeville postponed due to fire
Submitted by paula on Tue, 06/23/2015 - 4:34pm
Liberty Utilities has cancelled the planned power outage scheduled for parts of Alpine County due to the current Washington Fire in the Markleeville area.
The outage was scheduled for June 24th and July 1st to allow Liberty crews to replace some power poles in the area.
Liberty will notify its customers when this necessary maintenance will occur once new
dates have been scheduled.
Smoke fills the Carson Valley; Air in 'very unhealthy' range
Submitted by paula on Tue, 06/23/2015 - 5:50am
Smoke from the Washington Fire burning near Markleeville filled the Carson Valley early Tuesday morning. This photo taken from the Alert Tahoe camera atop McClellan Peak shows what people are waking up this morning.
Alpine County fire figures updated again: 16,543 acres burned
Submitted by paula on Sat, 06/20/2015 - 6:33pm
1:35 p.m. update on 6/23/15
The fire figures were updated this afternoon. At 8 a.m. they report almost 16,000 acres, then downsized a bit at noon to 13,562 after analyzing infrared reports. The 1:35 p.m. update is as follows:
The Washington Fire is actively burning. It is spreading due to both fuel-and-slope-driven forces and in some some drainages off of the East Fork Carson River. It has also spread to the north and to the east.
Fire is burning in hazardous and inaccessible terrain and approaching an increasing number of structures and impacting travel corridors.
