LTBMU: Prescribed fire activity resumes around Lake Tahoe #CaFire

Friday, February 14, 2014

LTBMU: Prescribed fire activity resumes around Lake Tahoe #CaFire

U.S. Forest Service

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU)

Prescribed Fire Information

Date Sent: Feb. 14, 2014

Prescribed fire activity resumes around Lake Tahoe

U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews may resume prescribed fire operations in several locations around the Lake Tahoe Basin beginning Tuesday, February 18, 2014. Operations may take place 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.

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, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/RxFireOps.

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 at http://fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm9_045864.pdf.

Visit an excellent web site and learn about Prescribed Fire vs. Wildfire at: http://www.smokeybear.com/prescribed-fires.asp.

Sent by:

Lisa Herron

Public Affairs Specialist

U.S. Forest Service

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

35 College Drive

South Lake Tahoe CA 96150

(530) 543-2815

laherron@fs.fed.us

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CFN - California Fire News 2013

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CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, February 14, 2014