SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is scheduled to begin the following prescribed fire operations this week:
1/20 – 1/31, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District – 11 acres of pile burning in the West side of Woodcreek Drainage at the end of Valerie Court
1/26 – 1/29, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit – 0.5 acres consisting of a landing pile will be burned at the Taylor Creek Admin site north of the pumphouse in South Lake Tahoe
1/26 – 1/30, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit – 5 acres of pile burning in the Tahoe Hill and Rubicon Bay area
1/27 – 1/30, Nevada Division of Forestry – 5 acres of pile burning for the Spooner Pile Burn Project near Spooner Lake in Backcountry State Park
February 2026, California State Parks – Sugar Pine Pile Burning project will prescribe burn piles around Day Use, Campground, and North Fire Road
Winter 2026, California Tahoe Conservancy – Carnelian Canyon, Dollar SW, and Tahoe Pines pile burning projects are set to begin in Winter 2026
For the interactive map on prescribed fire operations around Lake Tahoe, visit HERE.
Prescribed fires are used to help reduce overgrown vegetation and protect local communities, infrastructure, and natural resources from wildfires.
Residents may experience smoke during the prescribed burns. For more detailed information about air quality, go to AirNow online or download the app. When driving, slow down and turn on your headlights when you encounter smoke on the road.
We will evaluate weather conditions in the hours before a burn begins. If conditions warrant, scheduled prescribed fire activities may be canceled.
Stay informed about the scheduled prescribed fires through our forest website, social media channels and the Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team Prescribed Fire Map. We will notify county emergency management officials when burning begins.