Zephyr Fire and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue crews help with defensible in Al Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Al Tahoe neighborhood of South Lake Tahoe has been working on becoming a Fire Wise community, and this weekend's defensible space project took them closer to obtaining this recognition.

Several dozen homeowners took part over the weekend and one lucky homeowner was chosen as a Defensible Space Demonstration project. Pat Ghee, 77, owns a home in the neighborhood and was selected to get trees cut, brush and pine needles removed from the yard to make her home safer in the event of a fire. Zephyr Fire and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue crews met at the property on Sunday, August 23 to demonstrate how defensible space can be completed. Three trucks full of chipping and debris such as old firewood and pine needles were removed.

"We are so grateful for the two crews who worked tirelessly over the course of the two days," said Al Tahoe Fire Wise organizer Dianne Rees. "Our local fire department went above and beyond at the demo house."

Through a grant, the Zephyr Fire Crew has been in South Lake Tahoe and Meyers this summer helping with chipping of yard debris. In Al Tahoe they were able to chip 14 piles, mitigating fire risks from 39 requests received by Rees' team online, along with service to 15 parcels throughout the Al Tahoe neighborhood. A few family teams with green waste combined their efforts.

Al Tahoe is well on its way to receiving the Firewise certification in the city limits and will hopefully achieve that as soon as they complete a Risk Assessment of the neighborhood's 1520 parcels and file the application, said Rees.

She said her goal of "Neighbors helping Neighbors reduce wildfire risk," was successful. She's been working tirelessly on creating a more fire safe community for years. Her husband was a CalFire battalion chief in Plumas County and was familiar what had to be done in South Lake Tahoe.