Prescribed fire operations overnight concern some Lake Tahoe residents

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A prescribed fire operation above Fallen Leaf Lake on the Anogra Ridge caused some concern from area residents Wednesday evenings. Flames and images on heat maps were seen, prompting phone calls to fire officials.

The U.S. Forest Service was working on a planned fire, igniting 40 acres of piles primarily on the north side of Angora Ridge.

Roughly a dozen of the piles in Fallen Leaf Unit 171 were located on the south side of Angora Ridge in the Angora Fire burn scar. These piles were surrounded by a few standing snags from the Angora Fire, which ignited and burned causing the fire to look bigger than it was and to be visible from nearby neighborhoods, according to USFS-Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) Fire Chief, Carrie Thaler and Fire Management Specialist, Tod Flowers.

The LTBMU Fire Management Specialist (Division 4 Chief) was on the scene of this prescribed fire late Wednesday night to observe and evaluate the fire’s behavior and stayed in touch with the Camino Dispatch Center and CalFire.

The piles were surrounded by snow and because of sufficient fuel moisture, there was little spread into the nearby ground vegetation or trees. The fire remained completely inside the unit boundary, officials said.

Fire managers had been on the scene yesterday to monitor the brush during the planned prescribed burn. They also monitored downed trees and other adjacent fuels to ensure that they did not have any control concerns or problems.

Crews will be patrolling the area for the next several weeks.

It was also windy Wednesday, drawing even more concern. It’s common practice for fire managers to ignite larger areas ahead of incoming snowstorms as some wind is desirable to mitigate smoke impacts by lifting the smoke up and carrying it away from neighborhoods, according to Thaler and Flowers. Fire managers ensure that they are staying within the ‘wind limits’ and other parameters specified in the prescribed fire burn plan for the location and that they also have resources on scene monitoring fire activity during and after ignitions.