Agencies Sign 10-Year Strategy to Protect Lake Tahoe Communities and Forests
August 22, 2025 | Member Submitted
Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team, August 22, 2025
Against the backdrop of the 2025 Tahoe Summit, federal, state, local, and tribal partners commemorated the renewal of the Lake Tahoe Basin Multi-Jurisdictional Fuel Reduction and Wildfire Prevention Strategy, a 10-year plan to protect communities and restore fire-resilient forests within the Lake Tahoe Basin.
A multi-agency coordinating group developed the first Multi-Jurisdictional Strategy following the Angora Fire in 2007, which burned 3,100 acres and destroyed more than 248 homes. Since 2007, subsequent strategy updates have guided more than 78,000 acres of forest treatments in and around communities and 85,000 defensible space evaluations to assist homeowners. This work helped protect neighborhoods during recent wildfires, including the 2021 Caldor Fire.
“The updated strategy outlines the priorities for the most needed work to protect communities,” said Scott Lindgren, Chair of the Multi-Agency Coordinating Group and Lake Tahoe Basin Regional Chiefs. “We know wildfire will happen. This strategy ensures we are prepared and positioned to secure the resources needed to continue the critical work of protecting the Lake Tahoe Basin.”
The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit led the strategy update with input and support from Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team partners. It lays out a shared framework for reducing hazardous fuels, strengthening community preparedness, and safeguarding Tahoe’s environment for the next decade.
“This agreement represents our continued commitment to collaboration,” said Annabelle Monti, Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team Program Manager. “Together, we are building resilience for both the environment of Lake Tahoe and the people who call it home.”
This August also marks the fourth anniversary of the start of the 2021 Caldor Fire, which burned 221,000 acres and became just the second fire on record to cross over the granite crest of the Sierra Nevada.
“As we saw when the Caldor Fire entered the Tahoe Basin and hit previously treated areas, it allowed our firefighters to move in and aggressively fight the fire,” said USDA Forest Service Forest Supervisor for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Erick Walker. “These fuels treatments, along with home hardening, defensible space, and water infrastructure improvements helped prevent the loss of life and property.”
The Caldor Fire burned 10,000 acres in the Tahoe Basin, but not one permanent residence was lost.
With the signing of the strategy, the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team and its partners enter a new chapter of coordinated action to reduce wildfire risk and protect Lake Tahoe’s communities, environment, and treasured natural resources.
Images
Caption: Leaders representing 17 Lake Tahoe land management, fire, and environmental agencies gather after signing the 10-year fuel reduction strategy at the Lake Tahoe Summit on August 6, 2025 at Valhalla Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe.
Credit: Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team
Caption: A prescribed fire in Sugar Pine Point California State Park creates a shaded fuel break.
Credit: Silver Hartman
About the Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team
The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team consists of representatives of Tahoe Basin fire agencies, CAL FIRE, Nevada Division of Forestry and related state agencies, University of California and Nevada Cooperative Extensions, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the USDA Forest Service, conservation districts from both states, the California Tahoe Conservancy and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. Our Mission is to protect lives, property, and the environment within the Lake Tahoe Basin from wildfire by implementing prioritized fuels reduction projects and engaging the public in becoming a Fire Adapted Community. For more information, visit Tahoe Living with Fire.