air pollution

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, California Tahoe Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service resumed prescribed fire operations this week and will continue operations next week as conditions allow. Operations may take place in multiple locations around Lake Tahoe including Glenbrook, Cave Rock, Round Hill, Lower Kingsbury Grade, South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Paradise and Meyers.

UPDATE: The smoke that has settled into Carson City this Tuesday evening is from prescribed burning taking place around the Lake Tahoe Basin, confirmed Carson City Fire Chief Bob Schreihans.
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The North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts and the U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations this week in several areas around Lake Tahoe.

Weather and conditions permitting, the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service may continue prescribed fire operations next week in areas on the South and East shores of Lake Tahoe. If conditions are favorable, operations may begin on Sunday, Nov. 6 and may continue through the week.

Roads and highways play a vital role in a community's ability to function safely and efficiently. A healthy transportation system has the added benefit of encouraging economic growth and a financially strong community.

Carson City has been struggling to maintain its roadway system for decades and in numerous public meetings held this year under the auspices of the Transportation Resource Advisory Forum for Carson City (TRAFCC) it was apparent that without new sources of revenue, the community will fall only further behind on maintaining our streets in a serviceable condition.

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, which includes federal, state and local fire and land management agencies in the Lake Tahoe Basin, will begin their fall prescribed fire operations as early as next week, weather permitting.

UPDATE TUESDAY: Carson City's air quality is in the "moderate" category due to smoke from the Owens River Fire that is burning in Mono County north of Mammoth Lakes.
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Carson City is experiencing hazy skies due to smoke from the Owens River Fire burning east of Highway 395, seven miles north of Mammoth Lakes in Mono County.

As of early Monday afternoon, air quality in Carson City was in the "good" range but further south it has been listed as "moderate." It is likely to change as the wind becomes stronger with an approaching cold front.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Weather permitting, the U.S. Forest Service, the Nevada Division of State Lands and the Nevada Division of Forestry may conduct prescribed fire operations next week beginning Monday, May 2, 2016. 

On the East Shore, operations may take place in the Rocky Point area near Tunnel Creek Road, Montreal Canyon near Spooner Summit and south of Glenbrook near Camp Galilee.

Weather permitting, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service plan to continue prescribed fire operations this week with some smoke visible from the valley.
On the East Shore, operations may take place near Spooner Summit, Camp Galilee and on Kingsbury Grade near Edgewood Drive.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency defended its landmark 2012 Regional Plan to restore Lake Tahoe’s environment in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Tuesday during oral arguments against a lawsuit by the Sierra Club and the Friends of the West Shore organization.

The Nevada Division of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service and California State Parks have continued prescribed fire operations with controlled burning. Residual smoke from the burning has been visible in the valleys. Firefighters from Tahoe Douglas and East Fork Fire Protection District were called Monday afternoon to investigate smoke in the Spooner area and above Jacks Valley and determined it was from the controlled fire operations.

Prescribed fire operations at Spooner Summit and various places around Lake Tahoe will begin Monday, according to the Tahoe Fire and Fuels team.

North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue widespread prescribed fire operations around the Lake Tahoe Basin over the next several weeks as conditions allow.

Science is a process, not a doctrine. It asks questions and sets out to test them for answers. But our culture seems to regard science in an animate form, like a guru seated atop a mountain.

We put science on a pedestal and submit to it as the final authority on all of our problems and important questions. We rely on science to give us the answers.

We even permit science to be the driving force behind public policy, in spite of the fact that science is a search for questions that remain unanswered.

Take the issues of climate change and global warming.

A light smoke that began moving into Carson City early Saturday evening may be a result of controlled burn operations on the west shore of Lake Tahoe or open permit burning within the city limits, according to dispatch and the U.S. Forest Service.

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, which includes numerous fire and land management agencies in the Lake Tahoe Basin, will begin fall prescribed fire operations as soon as weather conditions are favorable, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Trees add significant value to a property. They provide financial benefit for resale, aesthetic value, climate control, wildlife habitat, water and soil protection and air pollution mitigation. In a drought, trees have a few adaptive defense mechanisms that help to reduce water loss. However, over extended periods of drought, tree growth and appearance can suffer and trees may die.

Depending on the weather, prescribed fires around the Lake Tahoe basin may resume beginning Monday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, California State Parks, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations beginning Monday, Jan. 12.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations this week on Kingsbury Grade near Buchanan Road, Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, Luther Pass and Spooner Summit. Operations will last through the next several weeks as conditions allow.

Prescribed fire operations near Sugar Pine Point State Park, Pioneer Trail and Washoan Boulevard, Ski Run Boulevard near Heavenly, Luther Pass, Spooner Summit, and Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park in Slaughterhouse Canyon, the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team announced Friday.

Prescribed fire operations are planned around all four shores of the Lake Tahoe Basin beginning Sunday, according to the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team.

Prescribed burns are planned near Incline Village, Tahoma, Meeks Bay, Sugar Pine Point State Park, Tahoe Mountain and Heavenly urban lot areas. A winter storm system is expected to arrive around the time the burning operations begin.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations in the Van Sickle Park, McKinney Rubicon and Heavenly urban lot areas. Operations will last through the next several weeks as conditions allow.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will begin the fall and winter prescribed fire program this week. Operations may take place Thursday, Oct. 16, on various urban lots around the Lake Tahoe Basin including Elizabeth Drive on the West Shore, Christmas Valley, Angora Creek, Elks Club Drive, Echo View Estates, and Bakersfield Avenue on the South Shore.

The Carson Ranger District, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, will open dead-tree firewood cutting areas beginning Monday, June 16, 2014. Dead-tree cutting areas include Hope Valley, Thornburg Canyon, and Leviathan.

Live-tree cutting areas will open on July 21, 2014; live-tree cutting areas include Beagle in the Dog Valley area, Scotts Lake, south of Woodfords, Calif., and Jones Creek off Mt. Rose Highway.

In the live-tree cutting areas, only designated trees may be cut and slash must be piled. Designated trees are described on the live-tree cutting area maps.

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection is asking people in the Eagle and Carson Valleys to refrain from burning wood this week during a period of stagnant air. Where wood is the only option, people should burn as cleanly as possible.

Strong temperature inversions and stagnant weather conditions can cause air pollution levels to increase rapidly in the valleys of Carson City and Douglas County.

Plans for vessels that would ferry up to 150 local commuters as well as visitors on Lake Tahoe with marina stops on the north and south shores are available for public comment through Jan. 3, 2014.

CARSON CITY — Open dead-tree firewood cutting areas in Hope Valley and Leviathan and Poor Boy begins Monday, The Carson Ranger District and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest announced.

Meanwhile, live-tree cutting areas will open on July 15. Areas include Beagle (Dog Valley area), Scotts Lake (south of Woodfords, Calif), and Thomas Creek Canyon (off of Mt. Rose Highway).

In the live-tree cutting areas, only designated trees may be cut and slash must be piled. Designated trees are described on the live-tree cutting area maps.

Public transportation has become a form of entertainmet on the North Lake Tahoe Water Shuttle.
After years of planning, the North Lake Tahoe Water Shuttle was launched last month as a pilot program to provide visitors with an alternative means of public transportation in addition to the region’s bus and transfer services. Many visitors, however, are taking the shuttle for the sheer pleasure of being on the water, rather than a means to get from one side of the North Shore to another.

CARSON CITY – With U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s 5^th annual National Clean Energy Summit set to kick off today in Las Vegas, the debate over alternative energy development and the government’s role in its future rages on.

By the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Through late spring snow and cold temperatures, more than 300 people around Lake Tahoe rode in the 2011 Tahoe Bike Challenge, logging over 3,000 commuter bike or pedestrian trips and 10,000 miles of zero-emission travel. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that 1.9 pounds of CO2 is prevented by every bicycle mile traveled.