fire danger

With illegal and unattended campfires the cause of over 90% of wildfires in the Lake Tahoe Basin, new fire restrictions go into place on July 1, 2015. Campfires and charcoal barbecues will be restricted to designated recreation sites, and other fire-related activities are prohibited until the end of fire season.

“Increased fire danger due to the ongoing drought combined with warmer and dryer weather is a big concern for the basin," said U.S. Forest Service fire management officer, Kit Bailey. "Fire restrictions help reduce the possibility of human caused fires.”

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a Red Flag Warning for gusty winds and low humidity in effect from 12:00 p.m. through 10 p.m. Sunday for the Lake Tahoe Basin and parts of western Nevada.

They are calling for winds southwest to west at 15 to 25 mph and gusts up to 40 mph, with two to four foot waves on Lake Tahoe. These are hazardous conditions for kayakers and paddleboarders.

This combination of gusty winds and low humidity will create conditions that could promote rapid fire growth.

The ongoing drought, warmer-than-usual weather conditions and the fuel for fire those conditions produce could lead to a “perfect storm” this summer where multiple states in the West could be having large, simultaneous fires, state and federal fire officials told Gov. Brian Sandoval Monday.

“The system is going to be heavily taxed this year,” said Kit Bailey of the U.S. Forest Service. “We have preparedness levels of one through five and I’m a little concerned that we may get to an unprecedented level, a level six, and that is kind of a worst-case scenario.

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.

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.

Fire restrictions have gone into effect in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Campfires and charcoal barbecues will be restricted to designated recreation sites, and other fire-related activities will be prohibited until the end of fire season. “With record drought conditions in the West, agencies in both California and Nevada are anticipating increased fire activity,” said Fire Management Officer, Kit Bailey. “Fire restrictions help reduce the possibility of accidental human caused fires.”

On National Forest System land fire restrictions mean:

Fire fuel reduction plans and forest thinning projects amounting to about 10,000 acres around South Lake Tahoe have been approved by the Lahontan Regional Water Board. Plans will get underway this summer with efforts lasting anywhere between eight to 10 years, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The large-scale project has been in the works since the 2007 Angora fire where 254 homes burned.
The following is a joint news release from the U.S. Forest Service and the Lahontan Board.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Interior areas of Southern California and parts of the Sierra Nevada are in for high heat and increased fire danger this week, forecasters said Monday.The National Weather Servic...

Douglas County sent out an update this morning on the TRE Fire, which they say is now 6,600 acres. They also believe the fire was caused by a private residential open burn.

Press release:

The fire has grown to 6,600 acres burned. 2 homes and 17 outbuildings have been reported damaged or burned from the fire. No personnel injuries have been reported or discovered.

This winter, the Tahoe Resource Conservation District launched a Facebook contest in support of its “Tahoe’s Most un-Wanted” campaign in order to collaborate with the community for its series of educational posters. The wild-west themed posters are intended to help locals and visitors to identify some of the most pressing threats to the Tahoe Basin, as well as what people can do to help mitigate environmental challenges.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An unusually dry winter has spelled trouble for parts of California.Air quality in the San Francisco Bay area and Central Valley is the poorest it's been in years. State fire o...