Widespread fire operations to continue in Lake Tahoe Basin

North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, California State Parks, and the U.S. Forest Service are planning to continue prescribed fire operations next week beginning May 1. If conditions are favorable operations will take place in the following areas:

A) Glenbrook Area - 30 acres
B) Lower Kingsbury Area - 5 acres

C) Upper Jennifer/Tyner Area - 32 acres
D) Sugar Pine - 5 acres
E) Highway 50 and Logan Creek - 50 acres
F) SR89 and Grass Lake/ Luther Pass - 30 acres
G) SR89 and Fallen Leaf Lake Road - 40 acres
H) SR267/Brockway Summit - 40 acres
I) Ski Run/Pioneer Trail - 30 acres

Operations may continue over the next several weeks, weather permitting. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us. To view a map with project locations and details, visit the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) website at http://www.tahoefft.org.

Each prescribed fire 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. When conditions meet the prescription, state and local air pollution control districts issue a burn permit allowing operations to proceed.
The TFFT gives as much advance notice as possible before burning, but some operations may be conducted on short notice.

Before prescribed fire operations are conducted, agencies post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, send email notifications and update the local fire information line at 530-543-2816.

Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignition depending on the project size and environmental conditions. Agencies coordinate with state and local county air pollution control districts and monitor 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 and how smoke will travel. Smoke sensitive individuals are encouraged to reduce their exposure by staying indoors if they are in a smoke affected area.