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California State Parks, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations on Tuesday, January 20, 2015. Operations may take place near Tahoe City on Highway 28 between Rocky Ridge and Lake Forest, near Emerald Bay at Eagle Point Campground, the Boat Camp and behind Vikingsholm, Fallen Leaf Lake, Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, north of Spooner Summit, and Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park near Sand Harbor.

Over 400 acres will be burned as fire operations continue over the next several weeks.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, California State Parks, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations beginning Monday, January 12, 2015.

The public can get free firewood at the Wrights Lake Recreation Area on October 25-26 and November 1-2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Portions of the area inside the El Dorado National Forest will be open to the public for woodcutting on both weekends. Woodcutters will be issued a free permit on site.

“The Forest Service is looking forward to a safe and successful wood cutting event. Please help us clean up this popular recreation area,” stated Richard Thornburgh, Pacific Ranger District Ranger.

9/29/14 8 p.m. update - The King Fire is now 92% contained and has remained at 97.099 acres burned. More personnel has been released and there are now 3,401 remaining on the fire.

Mop up and patrol continued. Continued the demobilization of excess resources. Continued to backhaul excess equipment and trash. Fire suppression repair is ongoing. Homes and damaged buildings on White Meadows Road are being evaluated for future damage from possible mud and debris flows caused by the last two days of rain. Some homes and buildings are being prepared with sand bags by crews.

9/28/14 10:00 p.m. update: 4,420 firefighters and support staff are still on the scene of the 97.099 acre King Fire which is now 89% contained.

After 4 days of precipitation with accumulations of 1-3 inches, fire spread has been halted, however heat remains in the heavier fuels and in the heavy duff sheltered from the rain under the dense timber canopy. As the weather turns warm and dry over the next several days, expect to see an increase in fire activity and smoke production; however spread potential is extremely low, doe to the successful suppression efforts.

Beers, brats, and music are on tap at Camp Richardson Oct. 4-5, as Oktoberfest returns to the shores of Lake Tahoe. Now in its 20th year the annual event will showcase seven different autumn themed brews ranging from Drake’s Hefeweizen to Ninkasi Total Domination IPA.

The Recreation Mater Plan has been in front of local citizens, community groups and staff for the past several months, and now their ideas and suggestions has formulated a Draft Master Plan that can now be reviewed.

The Plan is intended to provide strategic guidance for the management, improvement and development of City and County parks, in conjunction with the recreation opportunities provided by other public and private entities in the South Shore.

There is a new way to enjoy two lakes with just a quick bike ride along the bike trail just completed by the U.S. Forest Service.

The Fallen Leaf Bike Path connects cyclists from the Fallen Leaf Lake Campground to the Pope Baldwin National Recreation Trail. The trail offers riders a safe and exciting alternative.

As reported by South Tahoe Now in April, the new trail also provided installation of bmps, upgrades, reconstruction and relocation of adjacent unauthorized trails.

A lack of water in California has prompted water restrictions to be imposed at California State Parks including Lake Tahoe's D.L. Bliss.

Due to the drought conditions showers, flushing toilets, and trailer dump stations will not be available at the park and chemical toilets have been put in their place.

According to the park's website, drinking water will continue to be available at the spigots throughout the campground but there will be no showers.

Due to the rise in human - bear conflicts at Lake Tahoe campgrounds, the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the Forest Service (LTBMU) has proposed an order to require visitors to properly store food and refuse in a container designed to prevent access by black bears and other wildlife.

Bears quickly learn to expect to find food at previously successful locations and have altered their behaviors in response to human sources of food. Bears habituated to human food will also forage preferentially on human food, even when wildland food is available.

The U.S. Forest Service has released details of the final BMP project for the Tallac Historic Site. The project will reconfigure the three entrances to the site in order to reduce confusion of travelers and create a more efficient use of paved surfaces. There will also be an internal road created to serve as a connector between Tallac, Kiva and the Visitor Center so vehicles will not have to exit to Hwy 89 to move about.

This project was first proposed in January of 2011. Work may begin in Spring of 2015 and is expected to take 10 years to complete.

Work will start as early as May 5th on the Forest Service's Fallen Leaf Trail Project. The project will improve the trail system by improving access to popular destinations and reducing congestion and user conflict.

The first phase will be worked on this spring and summer. The result will be a new bike path from Fallen Leaf Lake Campground to the Pope Baldwin Bike Path.

The temperatures are rising in South Lake Tahoe and residents and visitors are spending more time outdoors.

The U.S. Forest Service announced Monday that they will be opening recreation areas early. Last year's warm temperatures in April and May brought out people who wanted to enjoy the parks and beaches, only to find them still closed.

Here is a list of opening dates:

Inspiration Point, Logan Shoals, Chimney Beach, and Secret Harbor are opening on April 21.

Sawmill Pond and the Sandpit OHV areas open May 1.

Baldwin Beach and Nevada Beach and Campground open May 9.

Prescribed fire operations will continue around Lake Tahoe this week. Fuels management crews from the U.S. Forest Service will be in various locations around the Lake Tahoe Basin the week of March 30, 2014. Possible locations include Slaughterhouse Canyon on the East Shore, the Luther Pass Campground off of Highway 89 near South Lake Tahoe, the west side of Highway 89 near Tahoma, and near D.L. Bliss State Park on the West Shore.

Operations are ongoing and depend on weather, staffing, and conditions. Locations could vary due to changing conditions.

Prescribed burn operations will take place in several locations around the Lake Tahoe basin beginning on Tuesday, February 18.

The U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will be in the Luther Pass Campground off of Highway 89 S near South Lake Tahoe, on the west side of Highway 89 N near Tahoma, and in Slaughterhouse Canyon on Lake Tahoe’s East Shore. Prescribed fire crews may continue operations through the weekend, weather, staffing, and conditions permitting. Locations may vary due to changing conditions.

Since there is a lack of snow through the Sierra Nevada, visitors and locals in the Lake Tahoe basin are enjoying things that are normally reserved for the summer months.

U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will begin prescribed fire operations off of Highway 89 South near Luther Pass tomorrow, December 10, 2013. Crews will begin burning a 29 acre unit across the highway from the Luther Pass overflow campground and will burn as much as weather and conditions allow. Operations may continue through the week. In addition, crews will begin prescribed fire operations on a small unit off of Highway 28 on the East Shore of Lake Tahoe. Crews will burn approximately two acres on the east side of the highway between Secret and Skunk harbors near Bliss Pond.

You may have noticed all of the blue snow plows at their home next to the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center, Ice Arena and Campground on Rufus Allen Boulevard. During the last city council meeting there was a unanimous vote to move the current Public Works Streets Division yard (that houses the snow plows) to a new home on the corner of D Street and Shop Street. The council voted to spend just under $400,000 on the purchase, thus paving the way to further expand the work on the 56 acre project.

It began with a royal Bavarian marriage and evolved into a world famous festival – Oktoberfest. Munich's great tradition returns to the shores of Lake Tahoe for Camp Richardson's 19th Annual Oktoberfest, Oct. 5-6.

The second Free Fishing Day in 2013 in California will be Saturday, Sept. 7. The first was way back on Saturday, July 6.

On Sept. 7 you will be able to fish wherever you like without the need for a fishing license. However remember that you will need to abide by the rules and regulations that govern whatever water(s) you will be fishing.

Be sure to obey those rules and regulations, and don’t do something illegal. If you do, and if you get caught, it could be a very expensive experience.

The City of South Lake Tahoe Recreation Department is proud to partner with the Tahoe Tri Club and is hosting a Kids Triathlon this Sunday, June 30 at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Complex at 3 p.m. Registration for the event is $35.

The Tahoe Kids Triathlon is a super fun and super spectator friendly triathlon (series) for kids ages 3-13. The triathlon course includes the Recreation Complex Swimming Pool, Parking Lot, and Greenway that surrounds the Campground. A post-race party, BBQ and yearly age-group awards will follow the triathlon.

Age Groups:

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. – Someone’s stealing copper from Forest Service facilities on the South Shore, and the agency’s turning to the public for help in stopping the costly crimes. The thieves have targeted restrooms at Kiva Picnic Area, Fallen Leaf Campground, and Pope and Baldwin beaches, vandalizing the buildings in their attempts to access the copper pipes in the plumbing and sell them for scrap metal. Several of the restrooms had been newly constructed over the past few years.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit released the Environmental Assessment and decision for the William Kent Best Management Practices (BMPs) Retrofit and Administrative Site Redevelopment project. The proposed project now enters a 45-day decision appeal period.

It has been a very busy week for the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit. Numerous backcountry visitors were caught off guard with the arrival of this weekend’s inclement weather.
Approximately 60 SAR volunteers along with four Sheriff’s deputies responded to 11 different deployments between Friday and Wednesday. Nine of the SAR events were within the borders of El Dorado County while two were in Alpine County.