U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will begin prescribed fire operations tomorrow, September 30, 2011, near the west end of Ward Canyon on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore. Operations may continue through the week, weather and staff permitting. The project area is approximately two acres.

Residents and visitors can expect to see smoke from prescribed fire project areas. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, and efforts will be taken to reduce actual or potential smoke impacts on community areas.

This and other prescribed fire projects are designed to reduce wildfire risks to communities and critical resources.

State and local fire management agencies may also be conducting prescribed fire work during this period.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/ltbmu. To learn more about the efforts to reduce catastrophic 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.

To view maps that describe current prescribed fire project locations, visit the Current Prescribed Fire Activity 2011 web page found at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/RxFireOps .

Take a few moments to visit an excellent web site and learn about Prescribed Fire vs. Wildfire at: http://www.smokeybear.com/prescribed-fires.asp.