Prescribed burn near Silver Fork sending smoke into Lake Tahoe Basin

There are multiple prescribed fires both in the Eldorado National Forest and around the Lake Tahoe Basin today, but it is one of those that had residents worried and resulted in phone calls into local fire departments and the Forest Service.

This week, 119 acres are being burned by Owens Camp, near Silver Fork and the American River west of South Lake Tahoe, and the winds associated with a front moving into the Lake Tahoe Basin Tuesday resulted in visible smoke that could be seen around the lake.

In the Eldorado National Forest, a few thousand acres are being burned this fall: Iron Trap Prescribed Fire - 545 acres located near the intersection of Mormon Emigrant Trail and Silver Fork Road; Marshall Mine Prescribed Fire - 130 acres located near Happy Valley and 893 acres near Baltic Ridge; Silver Saddle Prescribed Fire - 295 acres near Silver Fork road; Placerville District Pile Burn - approximately 750 acres of pile burning district wide.

There is the potential for winds and rain Tuesday and Wednesday, and USFS officials in Camino said their staff won't leave the burn sites until all is secure.