Lake Tahoe, CA/NV… In March the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team received a 2022 National Wildfire Mitigation Award for innovation and leadership in wildfire mitigation. The award recognizes outstanding service at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels of government and at the community level. It is the highest national honor an organization can receive for exceptional work and significant program impact in wildfire preparedness and mitigation.

The National Association of State Foresters, National Fire Protection Association, USDA Forest Service, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs established the award in 2014 to recognize effective wildfire mitigation projects and programs throughout the United States.

“We’re honored that the committee selected our team for this award,” said Scott Lindgren, Fire Chief of Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District. “It reflects the important work that our community members, land managers, and fire agencies do every day to prepare for the next wildfire.”

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team is Lake Tahoe’s partnership of 21 federal, tribal, state, and local organizations dedicated to managing Tahoe’s forests and preparing communities for wildfire. The team focuses on multiple aspects of fire prevention, landscape resilience, and community wildfire preparedness, including home hardening, defensible space, fuel reduction, prescribed fire, data hub management, and unified public information and community outreach.

Since 2008, the partner agencies of the team have treated 65,000 acres in Tahoe’s wildland-urban interface across all land ownerships. The team also works directly with residents on wildfire preparation. In the last five years team members conducted over 25,000 defensible space inspections, responded to over 6,000 curbside chipping requests, and reached thousands of people through over 200 community events and workshops.

For information and resources on how to prepare for wildfire and locate your local fire district, visit www.tahoelivingwithfire.com.