Fuel reduction work begins at Stateline

The Tahoe-Douglas Fire District began work this week thinning trees in the Stateline area.

The project area stretches roughly from Kingsbury Middle School behind Lake Village, north to the Round Hill water treatment plant.

The project will use machines and hand crews to reduce the density of trees and brush, according to Mark Novak of the Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District.

"The project was designated as a priority project in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan," Novak said. "It's designed to modify fire behavior and protect the communities of Chimney Rock, Round Hill, Lake Village, Stateline and Upper Kingsbury."

The project is being implemented as a collaborative effort between the Tahoe-Douglas Fire District, the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, the Nevada Fire Safe Council, the Douglas County Sewer Improvement District, Douglas County School District and Sierra Pacific Power Company.

"We ask that residents and visitors avoid the area while the fuels reduction work is in progress," Novak said. "This area is popular for walking and biking and some of the machinery can throw bark and wood chips long distances. We thank the public in advance for their cooperation."

The project should be complete by early July.

For more information, contact John Pickett of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team at (775) 220-7675 or the Nevada Fire Safe Council, which serves the entire Tahoe Basin, at (530) 543-FIRE (3473) or (877) LT-NVFSC (586-8372). Field trips into the project area can be scheduled for interested groups.

The funding for this program is made possible from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act monies, focusing on hazardous fuels reduction in the Tahoe Basin.