In The News – Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team makes progress on wildfire prevention
December 19, 2023 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in The Tahoe Daily Tribune 12/19/2023, Submitted
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Tahoe’s trees are now draped in snow, and wildfire is not top of mind for most people. The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, however, is taking action year round to protect lives, property, and the environment within the Lake Tahoe Basin from wildfire. This collaborative group formed in 2008 and includes 21 federal, tribal, state, and local conservation, land management, and fire agencies.
“One of the most important ways that we improve forest health and our community’s safety is by implementing priority fuel reduction projects such as thinning trees and conducting prescribed burns,” says North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection Division Chief Isaac Powning, Incident Commander of the TFFT.
In 2023, partners treated thousands of acres of forested and urban lots to reduce hazardous fuels. They made significant progress on many urgent Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) projects, such as NV Energy’s Resilience Corridors Project. The project is thinning forests around NV Energy utility infrastructure reducing hazardous fuels that could otherwise ignite a fire. Once complete, the project will create resilient forests adjacent to 28 miles of NV Energy utility infrastructure and will have thinned 290 acres.