Fire fuels to be burned again next week around Lake Tahoe

Several areas around the Lake Tahoe basin are slated to be burned starting Monday, April 13, as the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) continues prescribed burns.

Fire operations are scheduled in Blackwood Canyon between Tahoe City and Tahoma, on the south side of Meeks Bay, at Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly and on the East Shore near Logan Creek Drive.

Operations may last through the next several weeks as conditions allow at the following locations:

Heavenly - 70.25 acres scheduled for fire operations
Logan Creek Drive - 20 acres scheduled for fire operations
North of Emerald Bay near Meeks Bay - 150 acres scheduled for fire operations
Blackwood Canyon - 15 acres scheduled for fire operations

Each operation follows a prescribed fire burn plan, which considers temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, and conditions for the dispersal of smoke. This information is used to decide when and where to burn. The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT ) gives as much advance notice as possible before burning, but some operations may be conducted on short notice.

Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignition depending on the project size. Agencies coordinate with state and local county air pollution control districts and monitors weather conditions closely prior to prescribed fire ignition. They wait for favorable conditions that will carry smoke up and out of the Basin.

Crews also conduct test burns before igniting a larger area, to verify how effectively fuels are consumed how smoke will travel.