This Saturday at 4pm: Virtual Evacuation Drill

In an effort to increase community wildfire preparedness, Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows will be hosting one community “area of refuge” virtual evacuation drill in collaboration with Squaw Valley Fire Department, North Tahoe Fire Protection District, Placer County Sheriff, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows Fire Safe Councils, and the residents of Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows. The drill will take place on Sept. 12, 4pm.

The event will take place using Microsoft Teams and you can find the login details here.

New Rules & Bans to Increase Regional Fire Safety

Over the past week, various agencies have implemented limitations to protect our area from wildfire danger.

On Tuesday, September 8th, 2020, the USDA Forest Service banned camping in various forest areas in our region. For a complete list of areas impacted, see the Press Release

On Friday, September 4th, 2020, all recreational campfires and charcoal use has been banned in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region. Press Release

Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership

Mentioned at last Saturday’s valley-wide meeting, forest restoration on the West Shore is underway to increase the area’s resilience to fire and other environmental hazards intensified by climate change. Based on the timeline outlined in their project overview, they are currently soliciting input from the public. Implementation is slated to begin in 2022, with an estimated average annual cost of $13 million. The restoration project includes 6 goals:

  1. Forests recover from fire, drought, and insect outbreaks.

  2. Fires burn at primarily low to moderate severities and provide ecological benefits.

  3. Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems support native species.

  4. Healthy creeks and floodplains provide clean water, complex habitat, and buffering from floods and droughts.

  5. People live safely with fire and enjoy and steward the landscape.

  6. Restoration is efficient, collaborative, and supports a strong economy.

For additional details on the collaborate, inter-agency project, which is scoped to restore 60K+ acres, you can visit the National Forest Foundation website.