Angora Fire 10 years later: Water suppliers complete $1.6M in water infrastructure projects

Igniting on June 24, 2007, the Angora Fire rapidly spread to over 3,100 acres, destroying 254 homes, 75 commercial structures and resulting in more than $141 million in damages. In response to this disaster, an Emergency California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission was formed to conduct a comprehensive review of the laws, policies and practices that affect the vulnerability of the Tahoe Basin to wildfires.

Finding 18 - “Much of the Tahoe Basin public and private water distribution infrastructure is inadequate to provide fire flows necessary to meet fire codes and fire agency needs.” Emergency California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission Report, May 2008

Based on this finding, public water agencies in California and Nevada, in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and with the leadership of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), embarked on an aggressive program to accelerate installation of critical water infrastructure to enhance our regional response to the threat of catastrophic wildfires.

This bi-state effort has been coordinated through the Tahoe Water for Fire Suppression Partnership (Partnership). Since the Angora Fire, the Partnership has installed more than 300 new hydrants, 114,000 linear feet of waterline upgrades, 10 new water storage tanks (with a 4.7 million‐gallon storage capacity), critical interties between the public and private water companies and 6 new emergency generators. Federal and local funding for this initiative supports locally-prioritized projects within the Lake Tahoe Basin with a direct nexus to improving local government wildfire response capabilities.

Last year, as a result of a multi-year, bi-partisan effort by Tahoe’s congressional delegation, the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act (LTRA) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. The LTRA seeks to improve Lake Tahoe’s water clarity, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, manage invasive species and restore and protect the environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Recognizing the established capability of the Partnership, the delegation included a provision authorizing funding for “municipal water infrastructure that significantly improves the firefighting capability of local government within the Lake Tahoe Basin.” As Congress debates funding priorities, the Partnership will continue to work with our Representatives Mark Amodei (R-NV) and Tom McClintock (R-CA) and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Dean Heller (R-NV) and regional stakeholders to support robust funding for authorized projects and beneficial implementation of the LTRA.

On the 10th anniversary of the Angora Fire, the Tahoe Water for Fire Suppression Partnership remains committed to protecting our communities and the environment from the threat of catastrophic wildfire.

This summer, with the support of the United States Forest Service, this Partnership plans to complete approximately $1.6 million in critical water infrastructure projects to improve firefighting in the Tahoe Basin.