SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — U.S. Forest Service fire and fuels management crews have begun prescribed fire operations in the Angora fire area. Operations will start with units off Tahoe Mountain and Forest Mountain roads. The number of acres will depend on weather conditions and other factors.

Burning the piles is the last step in the fuels reduction process in these units, which have been treated by hand. Fuels reduction using mechanical equipment continues in other parts of the fire area. Fuels reduction efforts, including prescribed fire, in the Angora Fire area aim to reduce the long-term risk of high intensity wildfire. Other units in this project area border the neighborhoods around Fallen Leaf Lake Rd., North Upper Truckee, South Tahoe High School and Gardner Mountain, for a total of more than 440 acres.

Forest Service fire and fuels management staff monitor weather conditions closely prior to prescribed fire ignition. They are looking for conditions that will carry smoke up and out of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Crews conduct a test burn before igniting a larger area, to verify how effectively fuels are consumed and how the smoke will travel. If crews light a significant number of acres at one time, the project may produce a smoke plume resembling that of a wildland fire.

The Forest Service strives to minimize the impacts of smoke on local communities. Smoke-sensitive residents should consider staying indoors and keeping doors, windows and outside vents closed. To directly receive prescribed fire updates, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us. Forest Service staff will post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, and update the local fire information line at (530) 543-2600, #6. Other federal, 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/goto/ltbmu/RxFireOps . To learn more about the efforts to reduce high-intensity 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. 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.