Prescribed fire operations may continue at Lake Tahoe

Submitted by paula on Sun, 05/22/2016 - 5:23pm

Prescribed burns are slated to continue this week, weather permitting. The Nevada Division of State Lands, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service are scheduled to begin fire operations on Monday, May 23, 2016 on both the Northeast and South shores of Lake Tahoe.

South Shore: Burning may take place off Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Sawmill Road, off Panther Lane near the west end of Gardner Mountain and off Santa Claus Drive and West River Parkway near Christmas Valley.

Northeast Shore: Near Incline Village in the Rocky Point area along Tunnel Creek Road.

To view a map with project locations and details, visit the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) website at http://www.tahoefft.org.

Residual smoke may be seen in locations where operations have taken place over the last several weeks. The TFFT gives as much advance notice as possible before burning, but some operations may be conducted on short notice in areas not identified on the map.

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.

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 how smoke will travel.

Before conducting prescribed fire operations, agencies post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, send email notifications and update the local fire information line at 530-543-2816. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.