Prescribed fires planned Wednesday for east and west shores of Lake Tahoe

Along with prescribed burns today at South Shore, the U.S. Forest Service has similar plans Wednesday near Secret Harbor on the East Shore of Lake Tahoe and in the Ward Canyon area south of Ward Creek on the west shore.
Crews expect to burn as many acres as possible before the predicted rain storm moves into the Lake Tahoe Basin. Operations in Ward Canyon are expected to last one day, weather permitting.

The Secret Harbor burn area project consists of about 100 acres and is with mainly piles of vegetation and woody materials remaining after fuels reduction efforts, according to the Forest Service. Because of the size of the project, the Forest Service is considering staffing a prescribed fire information station during this project. If weather conditions are favorable and fuels management staff decides to proceed with the operation, additional details regarding hours and location will follow, according to a press release.

Lake Tahoe residents and visitors may see a significant amount of smoke rising from the project area, including along State Route 28. Forest Service prescribed fire managers expect good dispersion of smoke based on predicted weather, the press release states.