South Lake Tahoe, CA… U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will continue prescribed fire operations in several locations around the Lake Tahoe Basin beginning tomorrow February 4, 2014. On the South Shore, operations will take place on the east side of Tahoe Mountain in South Lake Tahoe, the south side of Highway 89 N near Camp Richardson, and off of North Upper Truckee Road in the Angora fire area south of Mule Deer Circle. On the West Shore, operations will take place across from Emerald Bay State Park and on the west side of Highway 89 N near Tahoma. Prescribed fire crews may continue operations 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 may be visible on Highway 89 N near Camp Richardson, Emerald Bay State Park, and Tahoma. 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.