First prescribed burns of the new year to begin near Lake Tahoe

(FOX40.COM) — Even as storm clouds ready to bring snow to Lake Tahoe loom on the horizon, the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) is gearing up to conduct the first prescribed burns of 2024.

In a news release on Tuesday, the team shared that they would be conducting prescribed burns in the Tahoe basin sometime this week, weather permitting.

Snowpack at 30% after first Central Sierra Nevada measurement

TFFT concluded their prescribed burn activities for 2023 on Dec. 18, but are now ready to get back to preparing the forest for another fire year.

“Prescribed fires are a vital forest management tool used by lands managers to help protect communities by removing fuels that can feed unwanted wildland fires,” TFFT wrote in the news release.

Heavy snow headed for much of the Sierra Nevada

According to a map of the planned prescribed burns, one burn will be conducted on the California side of Lake Tahoe near Kings Beach and two others will be conducted on the Nevada side of the lake.

These burns are designed to mimic low-intensity fires that typically are lower in temperature and slower moving than most wildland fires that are scene during peak fire season.

Winter Weather Advisory issued in the Sierra Nevada. Here’s what to expect

The slower-moving fires allow for ground cover like pinecones, needles, limbs of dead and downed trees and other types of ladder fuels to be burned up in a controlled manner, rather than fueling and quickly spreading faster-moving fires.

During 2023, more than 1,000 acres of ground cover and understory were cleared through prescribed conducted by multiple fire agencies in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40.