Prescribed fire operations resume around Lake Tahoe

The Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team (TFFT) will resume prescribed fire operations next week, conditions and weather permitting. Operations will continue throughout much of the fall and winter seasons to help land managers reduce hazardous fuels that can feed unwanted wildfires. Smoke will be present.

For the map above:

1. Mountain Drive - California Tahoe Conservancy - Location: West of SR 89, South of Meeks Bay. Burn Type: Hand Piles, Total Acreage: 3.00. Planned Ignition: 12/1-20/2021. Duration of Ignition and Smoke Production: 2-3 days of ignition and 2 days of burn down time. Estimated Direction of Smoke Travel: North/Northeast/East. Communities or Smoke Sensitive Areas:

2. Pine Ridge - California Tahoe Conservancy - Location: West of Tahoma.
Burn Type: Hand Piles, Total Acreage: 5.00. Planned Ignition: 12/1-20/2021.
Duration of Ignition and Smoke Production: 2-3 days of ignition and 2 days of burn down time. Estimated Direction of Smoke Travel: North/Northeast/East
Communities or Smoke Sensitive Areas: Smoke may be visible from SR 89 along the West Shore.

3. Tahoe State Recreation Area - California State Parks. Location: Across Hwy 28 from State Park Campground. Burn Type: Hand Piles, Total Acreage: 2.00 . Planned Ignition: 12/06/2021. Duration of Ignition and Smoke Production: 2 weeks. Estimated Direction of Smoke Travel: Northeast.
Communities or Smoke Sensitive Areas: Tahoe City, Hwy 28.

4. Kingswood - California Tahoe Conservancy. Location: South of CA 267 and the Kingswood Community. Burn Type: Hand Piles. Total Acreage: 14.00.
Planned Ignition: 12/1-20/2021. Duration of Ignition and Smoke Production: 2-3 days of ignition and 2 days of burn down time. Estimated Direction of Smoke Travel: North/Northeast/East. Communities or Smoke Sensitive Areas:
Smoke may be visible from Hwy 267 and Hwy 28 on the North Shore.

5. Beaver St. - California Tahoe Conservancy. Location: NE of Kings Beach
Burn Type: Hand Piles, Total Acreage: 2.00. Planned Ignition: 12/1-20/2021.
Duration of Ignition and Smoke Production: 2-3 days of ignition and 2 days of burn down time. Estimated Direction of Smoke Travel: North/Northeast/East
Communities or Smoke Sensitive Areas: be visible from Hwy 267 and Hwy 28 on the North Shore.

A map with project locations and details is shown above and is available at tahoelivingwithfire.com. To receive email prescribed fire notifications, send a request to sm.fs.paltbmu@usda.gov to be added to the Prescribed Fire Notification List.

Fall and winter bring cooler temperatures and precipitation, which are ideal for conducting prescribed fire operations. Each operation follows a specialized burn plan, which considers temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of vegetation, and conditions for dispersal of smoke. All this information is used to decide when and where to burn.

Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignition depending on the project size, conditions, and weather. Prescribed fire smoke is generally less intense and of much shorter duration than smoke produced by wildland fires.

Prescribed fire managers use different methods to reintroduce low intensity fire in forests including pile and understory burning. Pile burning involves burning slash piles that are constructed by hand and mechanical equipment and is intended to remove excess fuels (branches, limbs, and stumps) that can feed unwanted wildfire. Understory burning uses low intensity fire on the ground (the understory) to remove excess vegetation (fuels) under specific environmental conditions with fire confined to a predetermined area. Understory burning produces fire behavior and fire characteristics required to attain planned fire and resource management objectives.

Prior to prescribed fire ignition, there is close coordination with local and state air quality agencies to monitor weather for favorable conditions that can disperse smoke. Crews conduct test burns before igniting a larger area to verify how well the vegetation is consumed along with how the smoke rises and disperses before proceeding.

Prescribed fire signs will be posted on roadways in areas affected by prescribed fire operations and email notifications will be sent to the Prescribed Fire Notification List. The TFFT gives as much advance notice as possible before burning, but some operations may be conducted on short notice due to the small window of opportunity.

To learn more about living with fire, visit https://tahoe.livingwithfire.info/get-informed/understanding-fire/.