In the News

Scientists Assess Fire Risk in all Tahoe Communities
date posted: December 22 2005

Lake Tahoe Report #73
June 25, 2004
By John Cobourn and Heather Segale


As a part of stepped-up efforts to prevent catastrophic wildfires at Lake Tahoe, the fire protection districts in the basin are working with fire risk specialists to assess wildfire threat in Tahoe communities.

In the California portion of the basin, the fire districts outside of South Lake Tahoe have hired the Davey Resource Group (DRG) and its subcontractor, the Native Communities Development Corporation (NCDC) to collect wildfire risk data. The City of South Lake Tahoe Fire Department has contracted with Citygate to produce its wildfire protection plan.

In Nevada, the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District have agreed to hire Resource Concepts Incorporated (RCI) to assess the fire threat in each neighborhood and to propose mitigation projects to reduce fire threats.

On the California side, DRG is employing state-of-the-art satellite mapping and extensive field data collection to pinpoint areas of extreme fire hazard within each fire protection district. This analysis is made by using a number of criteria, including roof composition, vegetation types, weather patterns, potential ignition sources, wildfire history, and defensible space measures that have been implemented on properties.

The community wildfire protection plans that result from these studies will contain proposals to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires using specific forest management prescriptions, such as forest thinning and fuel break projects. The plans will also contain recommendations for property owners on creating defensible space and assessments of the fire suppression capabilities of the various fire protection districts, recommending additional resources where appropriate.

On the Nevada side, RCI will study all the communities delineated by the two Nevada fire protection districts, using a “threat assessment” score sheet in each one. RCI will rate each community on a scale from “extreme threat” to “low threat.” This study will include analysis of risk, probability of ignition, the number of ignition sources, and a description of a worst-case-scenario fire.

A very important part of these processes to create community wildfire protection plans is public input. Public meetings for the presentation of the drafts of the fire plans will be held:
In California:
7 p.m., July 8, N. Tahoe Fire Protection District, Station #52, 288 North Shore Blvd., King’s Beach
7 p.m., July 9, Meeks Bay Fire Protection District, 8041 Emerald Bay Road, Meeks Bay
10 a.m., July 10, Lake Valley Fire Protection District, 2211 Keetak, Meyers
1 p.m., July 10, Fallen Leaf Fire Department, 241 Fallen Leaf Road, Fallen Leaf Lake
In Nevada:
6 p.m., July 8, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, 866 Oriole Way, Incline Village
6 p.m., July 19, Round Hill Fire Station, U.S. Highway 50 at Elks Point Road, Roundhill

At these meetings, community members are encouraged to share their input and express any concerns about the fire plans. Public input is critical for the creation of fire plans that will benefit each fire district.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) supports the efforts the fire protection districts to create fire-safe communities. The environmental damage that would result from a catastrophic wildfire is of great concern to the community and to the TRPA. TRPA is creating a Tahoe Basin Fire Plan with other basin agencies that will include all the elements required to access resources available through the National Fire Plan, Healthy Forest Restoration Act and other funding sources. The Tahoe Basin Fire Plan will incorporate each fire protection district’s community fire plan and create a GIS database to track activities and provide map-making capability and data analysis basin-wide. TRPA is also pursuing various grants and other funding opportunities to help fire protection districts cover the costs associated with fire prevention plans.
For more information about the fire plans, contact Jennifer Arrowsmith, administrator, Tahoe Basin Fire Safe Council, (530) 543-1501, ext. 112; or Elwood Miller, executive coordinator, Nevada Fire Safe Council, (775) 322-2413.