fire protection

North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts will continue prescribed fire operations around Incline Village, Kingsbury Grade and Van Sickle Bi-State Park through next week as weather and conditions allow.

On the west side on Incline Village, crews will be burning 77 acres of hand piles starting Monday, November 23.

35 acres on Park Cattle property near Van Sickle Bi-State Park were ignited Wednesday and will continue as conditions allow.

North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue widespread prescribed fire operations around the Lake Tahoe Basin over the next several weeks as conditions allow.

Operations may take place in the following areas:

Ward Canyon near Sunnyside will continue next week if not completed on November 13. Fairway Drive near Tahoe City - 28 acres
Carnelian Woods Avenue in Carnelian Bay - 137 acres
Anaho Road in Crystal Bay, Crosby Court, Jennifer Street and Tyner Way in Incline Village - 4.82 acres

North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations over the next few weeks in various locations around the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Depending on daily weather forecasts, operations are planned in the following areas:

East Side of Second Creek Drainage - 3 acres
East Side of Third Creek Drainage - 10 acres
Douglas County - Zephyr Cove Park near Warrior Way - 8 acres
Hwy 89/ Grass Lake Rd - 122 acres
Meeks Bay/Meeks Meadow - 285 acres

The Lake Valley Fire Protection District honored Attorney William Wright with a “Proclamation of Thanks” at the Board meeting held on October 8, 2015.

Wright served as legal counsel to the board for the past 25 years and is now going to enjoy retirement.

The District thanked Wright for his service and dedication to the
Department and it's constituents.

The Lake Valley Fire Protection District announced the swearing in of new Apprentice
Firefighter-Paramedic, Dylan Yuzbick, was given the oath of office by Board President Dave Huber and was welcomed to the District during their October 8 board meeting.

A fire in the air handling unit at Montbleu Resort in South Lake Tahoe forced the evacuation of all casino and convention center patrons on Friday evening.

According to Eric Guevin, Fire Marshal for the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, the motor of the air handling unit caught on fire, forcing smoke into the hallway between the convention center and the casino floor.

One ambulance and fire engine from South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue responded along with four engines from Tahoe Douglas.

Washoe County Sheriff Chuck Allen is praising the efforts of Incline Village Deputies and Search and Rescue volunteers who discovered the location of a missing and endangered elderly California man Monday in Incline Village.

“If you were to talk to the men and women responsible for this rescue effort, they will tell you that it is all simply part of their job or why they do what they do,” Sheriff Allen said. “As Sheriff, I will tell you that we should all be proud of their actions this week for I believe they saved a life that day.”

6:15 p.m. update 9/15/15:

New evacuation advisories were put up at the scene of the large Butte Fire on Tuesday.

A twisted chunk of metal, a file of yellowing newspapers and a million memories from 35 years ago are constant reminders of the Harvey’s Casino Resort bombing for retired FBI agent Bill Jonkey.

“It’s something you never forget,” said Jonkey, the FBI’s lead investigator on the $3 million extortion case, who lives in retirement in Carson Valley.

A Carson City teenager died Saturday after authorities were called to Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe for an accident on the water. Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong confirmed the victim is a 15-year-old Carson High School student.

The teen’s name has not been released. A chaplain from Carson City has notified the parents, said Furlong. The teen died after he was taken to a Reno hospital after emergency crews were called to Sand Harbor at around noon Saturday. Washoe County authorities would not confirm if it was a possible drowning.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District recently purchased new crew facility Station #22, which will act as quarters for the Tahoe Douglas Zephyr Crew. The public is invited to tour the new facility and celebrate the Tahoe Douglas Zephyr Crew on Tuesday, July 28 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tahoe Chamber will officiate a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

9:20 p.m. update 7/8/15

Approximately 141 homes have water and structural damage after Wednesday's flooding in the Stephanie and Johnson Lane areas of Douglas County. It is unknown how many homes may have landscape damage.

No injuries have been reported.

Douglas County has activated a flood hot line for residents who have been affected by the flooding. The number to call is (775) 782-6262 or visit douglasflood2015@gmail.com.

Douglas County Emergency Management is currently working on managing the storms that are currently passing through Douglas County. Areas of concern are the flood prone areas of the Fish Springs, Johnson Lane, Foothill Road and Topaz Ranch Estates.

Current road closures at this time in Douglas County are East Valley Road near Eldon Way in the Johnson Lane area. Precautions should be taken when driving along roads that have steep embankments alongside such as SR207 Kingsbury Grade for falling rocks and debris.

There are nine small lightning caused fires currently burning in or around the Lake Tahoe Basin, the largest one is one-half acre in size.

Staff from the U.S. Forest Service is at each scene with firefighters from the Tahoe-Douglas and North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection Districts, working to extinguish them. Most of the fires are single-tree fires with some ground fire.

Winds are calm, and the Lake Tahoe Basin received substantial rainfall in the area of the fire starts, so the rate of spread is low.

Douglas County Emergency Management responded to flash flooding in the Ruhenstroth, Fish Springs, East Valley and Pine Nut areas on Wednesday after receiving several calls after heavy rainfall.

The areas mostly impacted are in the Ruhenstroth area, where there is property damage in the Sawmill and Arroyo Road areas. There are currently nine properties with damage that have been reported. There are active flows of water continuing in the dip sections but the main push of water that reached the canal west of Sawmill Road is now receding.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire District and Skyland Fire Adapted Community will execute an inter-agency wildfire evacuation drill on Monday, June 8, 2015 between the hours of 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The drill will simulate a real evacuation event to give residents the opportunity to practice evacuating from their homes and getting to the designated safe zone. Situations which could cause a neighborhood evacuation would be a wildfire, earthquake, hazardous spill or some other catastrophic event.

It’s Wildfire Awareness Month at Tahoe, and with the summer tourist season around the corner, we must all remember that drought has left our Region with severely dry forest conditions and an extreme risk of wildfire. This summer we need to think about “when” not “if” another fire will happen. All of us have important roles to play in preventing the next wildfire, and in making sure our homes, families, and communities are prepared for it.

On March 29, 2015, Fresno Fire Captain Pete Dern fell through the roof of a burning home, resulting in severe burns over 70% of his body. In the days since the accident, firefighters and other concerned people from around the country have been sending both prayers and money to the family.

The outpouring of support is also evident on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. On Sunday, April 19, the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and The Local 2441 are putting on a pancake breakfast to raise money for the mounting expenses for Dern and his family.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations next week, beginning Monday, April 6, 2015, weather permitting. Operations are scheduled to take place in Blackwood Canyon between Tahoe City and Tahoma, on the south side of Meeks Bay, on Gardner Mountain near South Tahoe High School and off Gardner Street, in the Tahoe Keys, on Luther Pass near Grass Lake, at Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, on upper Kingsbury Grade and on the East Shore near Logan Creek Drive.

There were more than 1,000 fires in California in 2014 and, because of the current dry conditions, 2015 is expected to be more of the same.

Aided by rainfall, firefighters were taking control of a forest fire that destroyed about 40 homes in the Eastern Sierra near Mammoth Mountain.

Crews had the blaze about 65% contained by Sunday, nearly two days after a blaze whipped by winds tore into the towns of Swall Meadows and Paradise, with about 250 inhabitants. The towns are about 25 miles southeast of the Mammoth Mountain ski resort, near U.S. Highway 395.

The main problem now is more than four dozen downed power lines and damaged trees, making conditions too hazardous to lift mandatory evacuation orders in the area.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston gave a detailed explanation of the 14-year old California Tahoe Emergency Services Operations Authority (Cal Tahoe) during Tuesday's City Council meeting. At the end of it one message was clear: El Dorado County needs to pay up.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations this week on Kingsbury Grade near Buchanan Road, Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, Luther Pass and Spooner Summit.

Operations will last through the next several weeks as conditions allow.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, California State Parks, Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations near Sugar Pine Point State Park, Sawmill Pond, Pioneer Trail and Washoan Boulevard, Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, Van Sickle Bi-State Park, Luther Pass, Spooner Summit, and Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park in Slaughterhouse Canyon. Operations will last through the next several weeks as conditions allow.