Living With Fire Means Living With Smoke

Submitted by Tia Rancourt of North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, 12/04/2024

The Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team (TFFT) Fall Prescribed Fire Program began in September and is scheduled to continue through the winter months when conditions are favorable. During this period, residents and visitors in the Lake Tahoe Basin and surrounding areas may notice smoke in the air regularly due to residential debris burning and prescribed fire operations. Both activities play an essential role in protecting our communities by reducing excess vegetation (fuels) that can feed wildland fires. However, no matter how positive the benefits are, they come with a side effect that can be more than a minor inconvenience: smoke.  

Prescribed Fire

While fire has always been a natural part of the Sierra Nevada ecosystem, the structure of our current society presents unique challenges for land managers. Today, there are more people than ever living in or visiting Tahoe Basin forests. For many, smoke is the most likely way they will experience a prescribed fire, which can lead to a lot of negative emotions. No one likes to breathe smoke, and it can pose tangible health risks, especially to vulnerable populations. The good news is that exposure to smoke can be reduced by following a few simple suggestions:

• Close windows, doors, and outside vents when it’s smoky to prevent smoke accumulation indoors. 
• If you have an air conditioner, run it. Keep the fresh air intake closed and keep the filter clean.
• Ventilate your home and workplace during periods of light smoke. 
• Avoid physical activities while smoke is dense.
• View helpful Smoke Management Tips and share with family and friends.
• Monitor air quality in your area at AirNow.gov.

Depending on the number of acres being burned and fuel loading in the unit, smoke from planned fires is generally present for a much shorter period and can be much less impactful than smoke from unplanned fires. Wildfires tend to be considerably longer in duration than planned fires, sometimes blanketing huge areas with thick, choking smoke for weeks or months at a time. Prescribed fires help reduce these kind of smoke impacts and allow fire managers time to notify residents before burning.

Prior to prescribed fire ignitions, land managers coordinate closely with local and state air quality agencies and monitor weather to help avert smoke impacts by burning on days with optimal smoke dispersal. Crews conduct test burns before igniting larger areas to verify how well vegetation is consumed and how smoke rises and disperses before proceeding. If smoke dispersal and consumption of vegetation is not ideal, operations may be postponed until conditions improve.     

It’s common for smoke from prescribed burns or wood burning stoves to hang low to the ground at night and in the early morning due to a phenomenon known as a temperature inversion. A temperature inversion is when warm air “caps” cooler air, causing smoke to become trapped in valley bottoms at night and in the early morning.  

Before burning, TFFT members post signs on roadways in areas affected by prescribed fire operations, send email notifications to the Prescribed Fire Notification List, and update the local fire information line recording at 530-543-2816. Additionally, project details and locations are available in the form of an interactive prescribed fire map and interested community members may send an email to sm.fs.paltbmu@usda.gov to sign up for notifications.

Residential Debris Burning

While prescribed fire is carefully managed by fire professionals, residential debris burning requires landowners to take specific precautions to ensure safety and compliance. Before burning outdoors, residents must check with their local air quality agencies to confirm it is a permissive burn day. Weather conditions, especially wind, play a critical role in safe burning. In addition to obtaining a valid burn permit, understanding and following all rules and safety guidelines for debris burning is essential.

• Obtain a valid burn permit when they are required.
• Do not burn household trash or garbage outdoors.
• A responsible adult must be in attendance until the fire is out.
• Clear flammable material and vegetation within 10-feet, down to bare earth, around the burn pile.
• Only burn dry, natural vegetation such as leaves, pine needles, and tree trimmings.
• Limit debris piles to 4-feet in diameter and 4-feet in height. Add to the pile as it burns down.
• Burn only on safe weather days. Do not burn on windy days.
• Keep a water supply and shovel close to the burn site.
• To reduce smoke, burn between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when dispersion conditions are best.

As a reminder, debris burning is never allowed in the City of South Lake Tahoe.

For more information on safe debris burning, visit burnpermit.fire.ca.gov/. Even on permitted burn days, following safety guidelines is essential to reducing fire hazards, preventing wildfires, and protecting communities.

Learn more about living in fire-adapted ecosystems, prescribed fire, fuels reduction and more at Tahoe Living With Fire. Get prepared, get informed, and get involved!