Lake Tahoe agency kicks off Fire Awareness Week with activities

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is encouraging local residents and part-time homeowners to become “wildfire aware” by taking advantage of public education activities during Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Week happening May 26 to June 3.

“With the fifth anniversary of the Angora fire coming up, this is a good opportunity for our community to discuss the importance of wildfire awareness,” said Joanne Marchetta, Executive Director of TRPA.

The theme of this year’s Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Week is “Your Home - Your Responsibility.” The goal is to encourage homeowners and residents to gain the knowledge and skills to prepare their homes and property to survive wildfires and know how to evacuate safely.

To that end, Tahoe Basin fire agencies and partners, including TRPA and the University of California and Nevada Cooperative Extensions, are sponsoring a series of free webinars to help individuals and communities learn how to become more fire adaptive. Each webinar will be held from noon to 1 p.m. and will be recorded and archived for later viewing. The schedule of webinars is:

Session One: Friday, May 25th, 2012 - Defensible space in the Tahoe Basin
Why and how to create defensible space - Ed Smith, Univ. of Nevada Cooperative Ext.
How to integrate with erosion control practices – Mike Vollmer, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

Session Two: Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 - Improving home survivability during wildfire
Home vulnerability - Steve Quarles, Insurance Inst. for Business & Home Safety
Implementing wildland urban interface building codes in the Tahoe Basin – Gareth Harris, Lake Valley Tahoe Fire Protection District

Session Three: Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 - Conservation landscaping in Tahoe
Defensible space landscaping – Susie Kocher, Univ. of California Coop. Extension
Backyard Native plants – Lesley Higgins, Nevada Tahoe Conservation District
Learning how to garden at Lake Tahoe - Wendy West, Tahoe Basin Master Gardener program

Session Four: Thursday, May 31st, 2012 - What to do during a wildfire/ evacuation/ emergency preparedness
Evacuation during a wildfire/ PRIDE – Mark Regan, North Lake Tahoe FPD
Information needs and methods during a wildfire – Dave Zaski, North Tahoe FPD

Session Five: Friday June 1st, 2012 - Fire risk reduction and the US Forest Service
Fire prevention in Lake Tahoe – Beth Brady, USFS Fire Prevention Specialist
South Shore fuels treatments project, stewardship permit system – Kyle Jacobsen, USFS Forest Fuels Specialist

Session Six: Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 - Working with your fire agencies/ neighborhood /community
Working with your fire agency (services, permits, calls from insurance companies, etc) – Eric Guevin, Tahoe Douglas FPD, Martin Goldberg, Lake Valley FPD
Motivating neighbors to organize for defensible space – Ann Grant, Nevada Fire Save Council volunteer

“With 2012 shaping up to be a high risk year for wildfires, the more people can prepare to survive the threat the better we all will be,” said Susan Kocher, Natural Resources Advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension, and one of the organizers of the webinar series.

Other activities taking place during Wildfire Awareness Week include a film series, classes on landscaping for fire safety and wildlife, wildfire evacuation drills and walking tours as well as a presentation and community forum entitled, “Five Years Post Angora Fire – lessons For Incline Village and Crystal Bay.”

To learn more about the webinar series and other Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Week events visit www.livingwithfire.info/tahoe or www.trpa.org.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency cooperatively leads the effort to preserve, restore, and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region now and in the future.

— Writer Kristi Boosman is the Public Information Officer for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. She can be reached at (775) 589-5230 or kboosman@trpa.org.