Forest Service taking advantage of weather and continuing controlled burns

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will continue prescribed fire operations in the Pioneer Trail and Slaughterhouse Canyon areas on Tuesday, November 4, and continuing as conditions allow.

Fall and winter bring cooler temperatures and precipitation, which favor prescribed burning. 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 Forest Service tries to give 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. Forest Service staff 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 prescribed fire operations are conducted, Forest Service staff post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire,