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Climate experts are discussing what we can do for the future in the drought. A forum on Wednesday afternoon summarized the climate conditions for the entire Great Basin, and how they affect resources like agriculture and wildlife.

These forums are important because experts say climate not only has a big impact on our region, but experts say it also affects our economy.

Smokey Bear and U.S. Forest Service crew members visited Jubilee Kids' Academy in South Lake Tahoe this morning to teach preschool kids about campfire safety. Illegal and unattended campfires cause over 90 percent of wildfires in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The Forest Service asks the public to be mindful of the current fire danger and help prevent human-caused wildfires by not building illegal campfires. Photo credit: Dave Marion, U.S. Forest Service.

An illegal campfire at Granite Lake in Desolation Wilderness started a wildfire on Tuesday according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). With the lack of a deep snowpack and high winds in the area this week, the fire could have easily spread had it not been for the quick response by USFS firefighters.

Illegal and unattended campfires cause over 90 percent of wildfires in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Fire managers are concerned about the impact from illegal campfires as we are in our fourth year of drought and forest conditions are already as dry as they would be in June.

The following is an opinion article from the Reno Gazette Journal and reprinted here:

It doesn't matter if you love or hate Democratic Sen. Harry Reid to agree that the announcement of his retirement just dramatically reduced our state's political power in Washington D.C.

Nevada will go from a state whose issues were often at the center of debate because of Reid's position as minority leader to a state without a congressional power player in either party.

Heavenly's Epic Discovery project passed their biggest hurdle Thursday as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's (TRPA) Governing Board unanimously approved the newest year-round recreational experience in South Lake Tahoe. With it, comes a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike. Epic Discovery will include new zip lines, sky cycle tree canopy tours, a mountain bike park and trails, ropes courses, and interpretive and educational tours to teach visitors about the Lake Tahoe Region’s cultural and environmental resources.

Beaches, parks, trailheads, campgrounds and popular Lake Tahoe viewing areas will start opening on April 1 for the 2015 season, almost two months ahead of schedule.

A mild winter has allowed the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) to start opening the popular areas but they won't be fully opened since they won't be fully staffed until closer to summer.

The public has an opportunity to meet Forest Service Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) engineering, trails and recreation staff during an open house on April 2.

This is a great time to ask questions regarding OHV used on designated routes within the Lake Tahoe Basin, the LTBMU Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) and the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreational (OHMVR) Grant application.

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.

Fed up with waiting, Nevada lawmakers are ramping up efforts to have private companies, fire districts and others paid for work conducted years ago to reduce fire danger in vulnerable areas around Lake Tahoe.

The Legislature earlier this month passed a joint resolution urging Congress to pay contractors who performed extensive fuels treatment work in the wake of Tahoe's disastrous Angora Fire of 2007.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is accepting public comment for the Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Cooperative Funds grant application submitted to the State of California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division.

The OHMVR grant provides staffing for OHV education and information, law enforcement patrols, resource and use monitoring, protection of natural and cultural resources and maintenance of OHV trails and trailheads on the LTBMU.

After five years overseeing nearly 40 percent of Utah's land, Juan Palma retires Friday as the state director for the Bureau of Land Management.

While many state and local leaders would rather evict the federal agency from Utah, they don't feel the same way about Palma.

An easygoing leader who was able to navigate the fraught politics of public lands management in Utah, Palma is respected by environmentalists and oil and gas developers alike.

Just over a dozen members of the community turned out for Thursday night's meeting about the pending Caltrans project that with either replace or restore the bridge over Echo Summit.

The Echo Summit Bridge Replacement/Rehabilitation Project was created because of cracks, rusting reinforcing steel and concrete spalling on the existing bridge which was built in 1939.

It took several more months than planned, but Soup Tahoe is now open on the South Shore.

In September, South Tahoe Now announced that SUP Tahoe would be converted into Soup Tahoe during the non-summer months where stand up paddling isn't as popular.

"There were many more regulations than we first figured into our business plan," said owner Eddie Smith of the delay in opening. Smith and his wife, Kimberly, got the doors opened to Soup Tahoe last week.

The final environmental impact report on Heavenly Mountain Resort's Epic Discovery Project has been completed and is now ready for public review. The new project, located at Heavenly Mountain Resort, will expand their summer activities to include more canopy tours, hiking and biking trails as well as interpretive activities.

February 01 Unkle Funkle @ McP's
Super Bowl Party @ Himmel Haus
Seraphin @ Northstar
February 02 Mark Wilson @ McP's
Ben Fuller @ West Shore Cafe
DJ Lambchop @ Fat Cat Cafe
February 03 Coop Da Loop, Dub Coling, Resonant Language @ Whisky Dick's
Buddy Emmer Blues Band @ Harrah's
Open Mic w/ Lucas Arizu @ Fat Cat Cafe
February 4-8 Alan Havey / Joe Dosch @ Improv at Harveys
February 04 Zebuel, Haylestorm, IJV @ The Grid
Chris Emmington @ fat Cat Cafe
February 05 The Saddle Tramps @ Hard Rock Hotel
Taking Root @ Rojo's

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to for the week of January 23 to January 29, 2015. They responded to 167 calls during the 7 day period.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

1/23
No Arrests

1/24
Spousal Abuse in the 2600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Drug Offense in the 1000 block of Al Tahoe Blvd

1/25
Drunk in Public in the 900 block of Park Ave
DUI at Tahoe Keys Blvd & Lake Tahoe Blvd
DUI at Pioneer Trail & Lake Tahoe Blvd
Warrant in the 3500 block of Shirley Ave

The California Tahoe Conservancy Board unanimously voted today to award Sierra Business Council (SBC) $50,000 to expand and enhance the Lake Tahoe Water Trail.

The Lake Tahoe Water Trail is the 72-mile scenic paddling route around the shore of Lake Tahoe. SBC plans to improve trail maps; increase wayfinding, trailhead signage, and outreach and education; launch a Lodge-to-Lodge Network; and establish a new Oversight Committee to develop a business plan to create a more sustainable program.

In addition to the burn sites already announced for burning this week, the US Forest Service will perform fire operations north of Emerald Bay.

They plan to start igniting 96 acres on Tuesday, January 27. The burn and down time is expected to take ten days.

Smoke may be visible from Incline, Kings Beach and East Shore Communities.

California State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations on Monday, January 26, 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, Gardner Mountain near South Tahoe High School, Luther Pass near Grass Lake, Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, and on the East Shore near Logan Creek Drive and the north side of Spooner Summit. Operations will last through the next several weeks as conditions allow.

The El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society presents Before and After the Flames: Fire, Forest and Climate Change in the Sierra Nevada, a talk by Dr. Hugh D. Safford, Senior Vegetation Ecologist for the US Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region (including California, Hawaii and Pacific Islands) and Dr. Becky Estes, ecologist with the the US Forest Service, Tuesday, January 27th, 7pm at the Planning Commission Meeting Room, Building C of the County Office Buildings, 2850 Fairlane Court in Placerville. The presentation is free and open to the public.

The Forest Service needs to fill many temporary and seasonal positions are available in several areas including fire, fisheries, wildlife, botany, visitor services, roads and trails, recreation and wilderness, and vegetation and timber management as well as the Pathways summer internship.

There will be a job fair to help fill those jobs on January 27, 2015, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Forest Supervisor’s Office at 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, Calif. 96150.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county.

The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at press time and the story will be updated when provided.

1/4
3:00 a.m. - DUI - Lake Tahoe Blvd - 24-YEAR OLD WOMAN WAS STOPPED FOR AN EQUIPMENT VIOLATION AND FOUND TO BE UNABLE TO SAFELY DRIVE DUE TO HER LEVEL OF ALCOHOL INTOXICATION. A CHEMICAL TEST REVEALED A BAC OVER .08%. THE SUSPECT WAS ARRESTED AND BOOKED ON THESE CHARGES.

1/5

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) would like the public's input on their proposed restoration project at six impaired meadows near South Lake Tahoe. Restoration will include tree thinning and removal, prescribed fire, stream channel repair, planting of vegetation and rerouting trails.

Hiking and exploring aren't just summer sports in Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA) will show you how to enjoy those activities as part of National Winter Trails Day on January 10.

They will guide snowshoers through the historic Van Sickle Bi-State Park after meeting at Explore Tahoe Urban Trailhead where participants will learn about the park.

Generation Green of South Lake Tahoe will join the leaders from TRTA as they guide people through the three mile round trip trek, highlighting a variety of winter, forest health, and fire ecology along the way.