If predicted rain and snow arrives this week, U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will resume prescribed fire operations in several locations around the Lake Tahoe Basin beginning Tuesday.
Burning will take place on the South Shore in the Luther Pass Campground off of Highway 89 S, on the West Shore off of Bunker Drive near Tahoe City and off of Chalet Road near Alpine Meadows ski area, and on the East Shore off of Easy Street on Lower Kingsbury Grade. Burning may continue through the weekend, weather, staffing, and conditions permitting
All prescribed fire projects are conducted in accordance with an approved prescribed fire burn plan. Burn plans describe specific conditions under which operations are conducted including the weather, number of personnel, opportunities to minimize smoke impacts, and available burn days. This information is used to decide when and where to burn.
Smoke from prescribed fire may continue for several days after the initial ignition. Smoke that settles in low lying areas in the morning usually lifts out of the area during normal daytime heating. All prescribed fires are monitored regularly for burning and smoke dispersal and action is taken to mitigate concerns as they arise. The Forest Service makes every effort to conduct prescribed fire operations during weather patterns that carry smoke away from communities.
Last summer’s wildfires serve as a reminder of the importance of fuels reduction and that smoke produced during a prescribed fire is less intense and of shorter duration than that of a wildfire. For more information on prescribed fire and smoke management tips, go here.
Forest Service staff will post road signs around the areas affected by the prescribed fire, send email notifications, and update the local fire information line at 530-543-2600, #6. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.
To learn more about the efforts to reduce wildfire risks in the Tahoe Basin read the Lake Tahoe Basin Multi-jurisdictional Fuel Reduction Plan found here.
Visit an excellent web site and learn about Prescribed Fire vs. Wildfire go here.