Forest Service

UPDATE: The fire is under control, according to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center.
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UPDATE 11:07AM: Fire crews on scene have kept the fire from spreading and a helicopter has been called into help fight the fire, according to KOLO. No structures are threatened.
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UPDATE 8:40AM: Resources are on scene of a single tree fire in Washoe Valley west of Bowers Mansion. The #BowersFire is a-quarter of an acre in brush and timber and was caused by lightning in the area, according to the U.S. Forest Service. No structures were threatened, fire officials said.

The Loyalton Fire north of the California, Nevada state line has burned 36,295 acres and is 5 percent contained as of Monday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire, which is believed to have started by lightning, has destroyed 5 homes and six outbuildings.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – As a reminder, backcountry visitors should practice proper food and garbage storage and behave appropriately when hiking and backpacking in Bear Country.

This summer, wilderness rangers report bears are successfully taking down food-hangs in Desolation Wilderness. Once bears become habituated to human food and garbage they will return and seek it out. Agencies highly recommend using bear resistant canisters when visiting the backcountry.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — After much discussion and deliberation, the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has made the difficult decision to cancel planned interpretive programs and visitor services at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center through the end of October, including second- and third-grade conservation education field trips. In addition, we have made the decision to cancel the Fall Fish Festival this year, an event that typically draws up to 12,000 visitors over the weekend.

Thunderstorms arriving into the region Wednesday have brought a number of calls for downed trees, power lines, outages and a fire reported in the Silver Springs area of Lyon County.

There’s nothing better than fresh air to restore the mind, body and soul, and in these troublesome days when we must wear masks just about everywhere, it is nice to be able to breathe in fresh air as we exercise our bodies and clear our troubled minds.

UPDATE: Fire investigators say a semi-tractor trailer truck with a faulty exhaust system is the likely cause of the #NumbersFire south of Gardnerville.

In keeping with its commitment to protect customers and the environment from the threat of natural disasters, NV Energy is working to improve situational awareness of fire and other weather-related threats by installing wildfire cameras and weather stations in natural disaster risk zones across its service territory.

UPDATE 6:18AM Tuesday: KOLO reports the fire grew overnight to more than 5,000 acres with one home and 10 outbuildings burned and 350 homes threatened. Highway 395 remains closed.
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UPDATE 10:48PM: East Fork Fire reports rapid spread of #numbersfire, and critical fire conditions. Evacuations continue as the blaze makes its way north along the eastern edge of Gardnerville. For overnight updates, see the Douglas County Facebook page here.

The July 4 holiday weekend at Lake Tahoe will look and feel different this year with basin firework shows canceled and social distancing safety practices required on beaches, campgrounds and along hiking trails. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Forest Service says it is hopeful the holiday period will be a great opportunity for people to get outside to celebrate Independence Day and all the wonders of Lake Tahoe.

The Poeville Fire east of Peavine Mountain in northwest Reno has burned an estimated 3,000 acres and is 30 percent contained as of Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Sierra Front Team 1 and assigned units made good progress Saturday on the Monarch Fire burning in the Pine Nut Mountains east of Gardnerville, Nev. The Monarch Fire was reported at 12:41 p.m. on June 24, 2020, and is burning three miles south of Sierra Spirit Ranch in Douglas County.

As of Friday morning, the Monarch Fire in Douglas County near Fish Springs and Pine Nut Road is covering a total of 2,500 acres.

UPDATE 3:39PM: The Monarch Fire is approximately 2,500 acres and currently 5 percent contained. No structures are immediately threatened at this time and the fire is believed to be lightning caused from the previous day. Responding agencies include East Fork, Central Lyon, North Lake Tahoe, North Lyon, Story County, Tahoe Douglas and Truckee Meadows Fire Protection Districts, Reno Fire Department, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service.
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As of 9:45 a.m. Thursday morning, the fire in the Pine Nuts in Douglas County, which has been named the Monarch Fire, now covers a total of 1,794 acres.

Multiple agencies are on scene to try and control the fire which is thought to have been caused by a lightning strike during yesterday’s thunderstorm.

Beginning Friday, June 26, the Carson City Fire Department will implement fire restrictions on City and privately-owned lands within Carson City. Vegetation in western Nevada has dried out significantly. A large crop of dry grass and brush is evident at lower elevations, and trees and other forest vegetation at higher elevations are quickly drying out.

Featured speaker at Monday's virtual Democratic luncheon will be James E. "Jim" Wilson, Jr., presiding judge for Department II of the First Judicial District Court, which serves Carson City and Storey Counties. First elected in 2008, Judge Wilson was re-elected unopposed in the 2014 primary and was re-elected again running unopposed in this year's primary.

U.S. Forest Service campgrounds in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and on the California side of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will open to the public on Friday. Nevada group campsites and day use areas that hold less than 50 people will also reopen.

The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is enacting campfire restrictions to protect the health and safety of employees and communities, effective immediately and until further notice. Outside of developed campgrounds and certain permitted facilities, igniting, building, maintaining or using a fire on national forests in California will be prohibited.

The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will open its Nevada campgrounds under Governor’s Sisolak reopening directives for Phase 2 of Nevada’s Roadmap to Recovery, beginning this Saturday, May 30.

Group campsites, group day use areas, and visitor centers in Nevada are still closed. In alignment with State of California guidance, Forest campgrounds and group day use areas in California remain closed.

Following a successful three-day operation in October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week released more than 4,600 Lahontan cutthroat trout into Lake Tahoe, helping to restore the iconic species to its native waters.

Lahontan cutthroat trout are the largest inland cutthroat trout in the world and the only trout native to Lake Tahoe.

Late Spring is in full swing in the Tahoe Basin and Tahoe black bears are searching for food. Intentional or unintentional feeding of bears results in unwanted bear behaviors, increased human-bear conflicts, and public safety issues as well as fines and possible jail time for violators.

Hello fellow anglers, welcome to Memorial weekend. As many of you know, Inyo County is closed to fishing until June 1st. But on May 22 the Mono County Board of Supervisors wrote a letter to the CDFW director Charles H Bonham, requesting the reopening of fishing season earlier then their previous request. As of May 23rd, Mono County is now open for the 2020 fishing season, right along Alpine County that opened on May 15th.

For those that will be getting out, Alpine County is open for fishing throughout the county.

Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe is reopening over the Memorial Day weekend and having a four-day locals-emphasis celebration after being closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event has been scaled back from previous years as city and state officials grapple with phase 2 reopening, which allows second-home property owners living outside the area to return to the California side of South Lake Tahoe, but not allowing for non-essential travel and visitors.

RENO — The forest of the Sierra Nevada mountains is an important resource for the surrounding communities in Nevada and California. Thinning the forest by removing trees by hand or using heavy machinery is one of the few tools available to manage forests.

It's officially Arbor Day and the day to hug a tree! Or, better, plant one!

That's what some of the members of the Chamber's Leadership Class did early Friday morning as phase one of their class project.

In light of current directives from the Governor related to health concerns, many facilities are closed, leaving few options for exercise and recreation. The Carson City Parks, Recreation & Open Space Department reports that an unprecedented number of people are utilizing Carson City’s more than 8,000 acres of parks, trails and open space. Trailhead parking in some locations is over capacity.

The Waterfall trailhead on Kings Canyon Road is experiencing especially large numbers of visitors, resulting in traffic congestion and parking related issues.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — In alignment with current federal, state and local guidance for social distancing and to ensure health and safety of its employees, visitors and volunteers, the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has temporarily closed national forest recreation sites and areas in the South Shore Recreation Corridor. The closures were effective as of Monday, April 13, 2020.

Hundreds of sheep will arrive in the hills west of Carson City this week and next week, with heightened alert and expectations as fire season arrives when the rain and snow stops and the heat settles in.

One person died of gunshot wounds Saturday evening in Gardnerville and those involved have been detained as part of the investigation, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Heading into the weekend, there’s a bevy of activities around the Carson City region over the next three days. Events include the South Carson Complete Streets Project groundbreaking ceremony, the International Film Festival held Friday and Saturday at the Carson City Community Center and Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada celebrate National Girl Scout Cookie weekend with door-to-door cookie sales. Combined with plenty of live music, the Carson City region is in store for a busy three days. Read on for more information.