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In The News – How this winter’s conditions helped crews catch up on burn piles in Tahoe

June 3, 2024 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 06/03/2024, Written by Katelyn Welsh

TAHOE BASIN, Calif./Nev. – A team of three agencies have caught up on their to-do list when it comes to burn piles on Nevada state lands in the Tahoe Basin, largely thanks to this winter’s conditions. 

The burn conditions this winter starkly contrast to the year before. During the 2022-2023 winter, “We had very poor pile burning conditions with piles saturated from early winter rain,” Forester Anna Higgins with the Nevada Division of Forestry says, “and then buried by record amounts of snow.”

Those conditions limited the burn weather window. This, along with drought, and lack of fire crews during wildfire off-season or prescribed fire qualified personnel in past years all contributed to the backlog of burn piles. Higgins burnt piles as old as 15 years.

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Photo Credit: Tahoe Daily Tribune

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