The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team urges residents to prepare for wildfire

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team is promoting Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Month during July. This year’s theme is “Fight fire with a plan” to encourage residents and visitors to prepare their family, property and possessions now before a wildfire starts by creating a plan.

Some ways to plan include:

  • Develop a family evacuation plan.
  • Assemble a Go-bag and a disaster supply kit for your home and vehicle.
  • Create and maintain defensible space around homes.
  • Sign up for emergency notifications for residents and visitors and stay informed.
  • Reduce the threat of wildfire by learning about embers and how to harden your home. Attend the free virtual Tahoe Home Retrofit Workshop detailed below.

With Illegal Campfires and Red Flag Warning Days both at record levels, we all must take action to protect our families and communities from the threat of wildfire, according to the TFFT.

Due to COVID-19, all Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Month in-person events are postponed, but on July 28, University of California Cooperative Extension and University of Nevada, Reno Extension will hold a free virtual workshop to educate residents on how to harden their home against wildfire.

According to University of California Cooperative Extension Advisor emeritus and retired Chief Scientist for Wildfire and Durability for IBHS, Dr. Steve Quarles, “Post-wildfire assessments have shown that more than 60% of home ignitions are the result of wind-blown embers. The chance of home ignitions can be greatly reduced if residents create and maintain an effective defensible space on their property and take steps to harden their homes to make them more resistant to embers.”

Zoom Tahoe Home Retrofit Workshop date: July 28, 2020

Pre-register for the workshop: bit.ly/TahoeRetrofit

This workshop is free to the public, but attendees must pre-register.

This July and all year long, the TFFT encourages you to “Fight fire with a plan”. To learn more about how to prepare for wildfire, visit tahoelivingwithfire.com.

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About the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) consists of representatives of Tahoe Basin fire agencies, CAL FIRE, Nevada Division of Forestry and related state agencies, University of California and Nevada Cooperative Extensions, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the USDA Forest Service, conservation districts from both states, the California Tahoe Conservancy and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. Our Mission is to protect lives, property and the environment within the Lake Tahoe Basin from wildfire by implementing prioritized fuels reduction projects and engaging the public in becoming a Fire Adapted Community.