Tahoe Fire

What's New

Posted On: May 12, 2008 (14:27:24)

3rd Annual

Wildland Fire Awareness Week

May 17-24, 2008

For further details click on the Nevada Fire Safe Council link on the right and/or view associated articles under the Fuels Management link to the left!

Open Burning Season Begins

Updated On: Apr 22, 2008 (12:37:00)

TDFPD Fire Marshal has approved "Open Burning" for the reduction of cleared vegetation.

This action will be permitted in the Douglas County portion of the Lake Tahoe Basin only form April 19, 2008 through June 1, 2008. Contact the closest to OBTAIN A PERMIT and a COPY OF THR BURN REGULATIONS!

Burning Regulations Call Before You Burn: 782-9969

1. Fires shall not be started before 8:00 a.m. and shall be fully extinguished by 3:00 p.m.

2. Fires shall be for hazard reduction of cleared vegetation ONLY.

3. Maximum pile size shall be 4 foot diameter.

4. Area with in 10 feet of outer edge of pile shall be maintained free and clear of all flammable material and vegetation.

5. There shall be an adult in attendance with a shovel until the fire is dead out.

6. A water supply (preferably a charged garden hose) shall be at the burning site.

7. No burning shall be undertaken unless weather conditions (particularly wind) are such that burning can be considered safe.

8. Permittee shall exercise due care as to not create annoying smoke conditions for neighbors.

9. Any violation of the above regulations may be due cause for revocation of burning permit.

YOU SHALL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPRESSION COSTS OF AN ESCAPED FIRE!

The 2008 Wildfire Season is near!

Updated On: Apr 23, 2008 (16:50:00)

Fuels Management/Defensible Space Program

The summer of 2007 was memorable for many reasons, some good and some unfortunate. The most notable event of the season was the Angora fire which consumed over 3000 acres and 254 homes. Several months later the Washoe fire on the West shore of Lake Tahoe consumed 20 acres and 5 homes. It is notable that the Angora Fire started in the Wildland area and quickly burned into a residential neighborhood and the Washoe Fire started as a structure fire and quickly burned into the forest. These fires demonstrate the importance of fuels reduction both at the homeowner level and in the forest around our communities. It is also interesting to note that the three largest fire seasons in recent history in terms of acreage burned, have occurred in the past five years.

If anything good did come from these incidents, it was the newfound awareness that many residents gained about the threat of catastrophic wildfire. This was evidenced by the overwhelming increase in demand for our curbside chipping, defensible space evaluation and tree marking programs. During the field season of 2007 the Fire District completed 500 defensible space evaluation, issued 364 tree removal permits, and provided chipping services to nearly 400 homeowners. In addition, over 300 homeowners received grant funds to help offset the cost of completing their defensible space.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire District has been actively working for a number of years to mitigate this threat. In 2004 we completed our Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP); this document is the roadmap for fuel reduction for the district and can be viewed by clicking on this link http://www.rci-nv.com/reports/tahoedouglas/. In the summer of 2006 the District began offering curbside chipping services and issuing tree removal permits. During the summer of 2007 we continued our curbside chipping programs and added additional seasonal personnel to try to keep pace with the enormous demand.

This season we will be operating two chippers and increasing our seasonal staffing to 20. This increase in seasonal staffing will not only allow us to provide faster service in our chipping program, but it will also allow us to have a full “fuels crew” which will be implementing several fuel break projects around the community. In addition this crew will be working with the Nevada Division of State Lands and the United States Forest Service to treat urban lots within the community. This crew will also be a fully qualified fire suppression crew that will be available to respond should any wildfires occur within our community.

Make sure to check out all of our Fuels Managment programs to help our community to reduce the threat of wildfire to their homes under the Fuels Management button in the main menu!

Compost Your Combustibles

Posted On: Apr 22, 2008 (12:46:52)

Compost Your Combustibles

May 24, 2008-June 22, 2008 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM Daily.

This program will allow residents of the Tahoe Douglas Fire District, to drop off pine needles, branches, and pine cones at the Heavenly Ski Resort- Boulder Lodge Parking Lot. These materials are then recycled and either turned into compost or used for erosion control. This program is for residents only, no contractors please. Please help us contain the cost of this program by observing the following rules: no trash, rocks, lumber or dirt.

We’d like to thank the following cooperators who help share the costs of this program:

Heavenly Mountain Resort, South Tahoe Refuse, Tahoe Village Homeowners Association.