U.S. Forest Service- Tahoe National Forest

Prescribed Alert: 1/20-1/22 Onion Creek Grapple Piles Location: Approximately 1.5 miles down the Soda Springs/6001 Road going down into the Cedar Prescribed now reduces the risk of large, wild later.

From our friends at Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship: The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship is partnering with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, National Forests, cities and counties to develop a regional Connected Communities Trails Master Plan. Together, community members, land managers and local government agencies will create a Trails Master Plan with a vision to enhance recreation on public lands, preserve and celebrate the character of mountain communities, create new opportu...nities for economic prosperity and contribute to shared stewardship, all benefiting economically disadvantaged communities in Plumas, Sierra, Butte and Lassen Counties. We want to engage community members in the planning process and get an understanding of where and how community members use local trails and where they would like to have additional access to surrounding public lands. Please take 2-3 minutes to fill out an electronic survey. Your response will be extremely helpful in our planning process. Link to Connected Communities survey - https://sierratrails.org/connected-communities/

Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his message of equality, love, and service. We remember our Code of Commitments and reflect on a historic quote. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?' Martin Luther King, Jr.

Prescribed Fire Notice: 1/11-1/14 As part of the Western Nevada County Community Defense Project the Yuba River Ranger District will start ignitions in the Buckeye Diggins area today. This will be a pile burn located within WNCCDP area, on the lower Greenhorn rd. We have 241 acres remaining in this unit, but only burning smaller sections daily, as burning conditions allow. There will be a 12 person crew from the California Conservation Corp (CCC) here assisting with the burn throughout the week. Update, 1/12 0930: 15 acres burned on 1/11 - YRRD will plan to continue for another 25 acres today. Contingency resource personnel will be on scene from local modules.

The Tahoe National Forest is asking the public to do their part to ensure safe and healthy outdoor experiences during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend amidst the ongoing pandemic. Simple actions such as staying local, planning ahead, and following social distancing guidelines, can increase the outdoor experience for everyone. Recreating responsibly will help ensure that expanded access to recreational facilities, services, and opportunities continues -- day use area...s of National Forests and state parks currently open to the public remain open for the health and welfare of Californians. Below are some tips on how to recreate responsibly in the outdoors: Stay Local: Stay close to home during this pandemic period. If you or anyone in your household is feeling sick, please remain at home and plan your trip for another time. Plan Ahead: The ongoing pandemic response continues to be dynamic and fluid. Prior to leaving home, check our website to find out if the are of interest is open, if parking is available, and what visitor guidelines are in effect. Parking: Road safety is paramount. Some roads may be closed due to winter conditions and illegal roadside parking only puts you, your family and other visitors at risk. If the first approved parking area is full, please proceed to the next approved parking area. Please visit us another day if parking lots are full. Stay Safer at Six Feet: No matter the recreational activity, maintain a physical distance of six feet or more. Your guests should only include those within your immediate household. This means no guests or friends, and no gatherings or parties. If there are too many people to maintain the required physical distance, please visit us on a different day. Keep Clean: Be prepared as not all services may be available. Some restrooms will be temporarily closed to keep up with cleaning schedules. Bring soap/hand sanitizer. Please pack out all trash. Park units are experiencing heavy use and you can help alleviate the impact on park facilities. Additional Resources -- Recreate Responsibly Winter Toolkit -- The toolkit provides resources on planning ahead, weather conditions, avalanche awareness, trash management, and Leave No Trace principles. https://www.recreateresponsibly.org/winter The Tahoe National Forest thanks visitors for their partnership as we collectively enable responsible recreation that protects the health of visitors and the dedicated parks staff.

Prescribed Fire Notice: 1/12 The American River Ranger District will begin burning 16 acres of hand piles in the Elliott Meadows Restoration Project area today, 1 mile north of Big Reservoir. Smoke will be visible from I-80 and the Foresthill/Auburn area.

Prescribed Notice: 1/15-1/22 Yuba Unit J Pileburn - Haskell Creek YRRD Fuels will start 115 acres of pileburns today. Yuba Unit J is located in the Haskell Creek Summer home tract on Highway 49, near Yuba Pass. ... Prescribed now reduces the risk of large, wild later.

Prescribed Alert: The USFS will burn 61 acres of handpiles today near Highway 20 and White Cloud Campground. Piles may smolder/produce residual smoke over the next week. Piles will be patrolled until declared out. Prescribed now reduces the risk of large, wild later.

The American River Ranger District is firing two pile burns today totaling 28 acres along Foresthill Road. Piles may smolder and continue to produce residual smoke over the next week. Piles will be patrolled until declared out.

Our winter grooming updates are generally posted every Monday throughout the winter season. Snowmobile trail grooming is funded by the State of California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) division winter program. Grooming work on the East Side of the Tahoe National Forest is provided by Sierra Snowcats through a contract with Sierra County. Volunteer grooming work on the West Side is provided by the Sierra Buttes Snowbusters Snowmobile Club, using State-funded snow tractor/grooming equipment. Follow this link for our trail updates and important safety information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tahoe/home/?cid=FSEPRD868017

The Tahoe National Forest would like to wish you a safe and happy New Year!! Just a reminder - Forest Service offices will be closed tomorrow, January 1st. If you are planning a trip this weekend make sure to pack safety items such as extra clothes, a first aid kit, and extra food & water. Always check the weather forecast prior to your trip & share with a friend your planned route.

Phonelines are still down due to the PSPS. The Fuelwood Activity Level for today, 10/27: East Side - D West Side - EV

10.26.20 Early this morning at approximately 3:00am, Tahoe National Forest Engines White Cloud E-334 and Truckee E-371, TNF Water tender 32, Yuba River Ranger District Division 3 Eric Rice, as well as a cover engine from Washington were dispatched mutual aid with Truckee Fire and Cal Fire for a structure fire with extension to the vegetation at the Cisco Grove Campground. TNF Truckee Engine 371 Engineer Greg Lowdermilk relayed the following incident details of the multi-agenc...y fire response which occurred during the howling wind event impacting the area. The first arriving units which included TNF Big Bend Engine 334 led by Captain Jeremy Oster who provided a fire size up for incoming resources, found a working structure fire that had also extended into two small areas, less than 5’x5’ of vegetation. Resources rapidly contained the fires in the vegetation before they could spread further. A lack of fire hydrants in the area created the need for multiple water tenders to shuttle water to the scene, and a well coordinated fire attack brought the fire under control with no injuries to firefighters or civilians. Resources remained on scene for many hours to ensure that there was no further extension into the vegetation and that the structure was completely extinguished. Your Tahoe NF firefighters remain ready to respond to fire and all hazard incidents and are committed to serving the community and protecting your public lands. Photos and video of 10.26.20 Cisco Incident Response

The Tahoe National Forest Supervisor's Office is impacted by the Public Safety Power Shutoff. Our phone lines are down. District offices may also be experiencing limited connectivity and power outages. Our fuelwood hotline is also down - Today, 10/26, is EV.

The Red Flag Warning issued by the U.S. National Weather Service is still in effect and extended thru Tuesday. Extreme caution is needed to prevent wildfire starts and keep our communities and firefighters safe.

Tahoe National Forest Strike Team 4660C consisting of TNF Camptonville Engine 331, TNF White Cloud Engine 333, TNF Foresthill Engine 341, TNF Truckee Engine 72, and TNF Sierraville Engine 361 have returned from providing fire support on the August Complex. The fire is over 1,000,000 acres, burning on the Mendocino, the Shasta Trinity, and the Six Rivers National Forests and 93% contained. The TNF Engine Strike Team was assigned to the northwest zone of the incident on the Six... Rivers NF, Mad River District. We spent the majority of our 14 day assignment around Ruth Lake. Our assignments varied day to day and included mopping up around homes and ranches, back-hauling hose and fire supplies from the fireline, performing suppression repair work such as rehabbing dozer and handline, as well as assisting homeowners with any concerns they might have upon returning home. You can think of your Tahoe NF engines as a Swiss Army knife, capable of assisting the incident in multiple ways, always upholding the excellent Tahoe NF standards wherever we go. TNF Engine 331 Assistant Fire Engine Operator Danny Sadlo TNF 4660C firefighters have safely returned back on Forest. The engines are rehabbed, available, and ready to respond to incidents.

10.24.20 At this hour (9:30pm) Tahoe National Forest Yuba River Ranger District Division 3 Eric Rice along with TNF Big Bend Engine 334, and a cover engine from Lassen National Forest E-381, have stopped the forward progression of an escaped campfire after hiking in to the southeast side of Island Lake on the TNF. Suppression efforts will continue until the 10’x10’ Island Fire is fully contained and controlled ahead of the critical fire weather conditions forecasted to impact... the Tahoe National Forest tomorrow through Monday. Reminder- Tahoe National Forest Fire Restrictions prohibit ALL campfiresDispersed camping and target shooting are also prohibited Camp stoves are only permitted in open, developed campgroundsFor Full Fire Restrictions https://www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe/ The predicted high winds and low relative humidity are conducive to rapid fire spread and the public is urged to not only prevent wildfires but also be prepared and have an evacuation plan in the event a wildfire ignites under these dangerous Red Flag fire weather conditions. For fire preparedness tools go to readyforwildfire.org

From The US National Weather Service Red Flag Warning goes into effect on Sunday as extremely critical fire weather conditions are forecast to develop. This has the potential to be the strongest offshore wind event of 2020. Now is the time to prepare.... Strong northeast winds are likely this weekend with Critical Fire Conditions possible from western Lassen County south to the Tahoe Basin. Wind gusts over 70 mph are possible over the Sierra Crest with gusts up to 50 mph for the mid slopes and areas favored by northeast winds. Relative humidity will be between 15-25% through the event and fuels remain extremely dry. Check out the Red Flag Warning for additional details: https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php

Fall is a great time to visit the Placer Big Trees grove! Located in Tahoe National Forest’s American River Ranger District, the Big Trees Nature trail is a -mile loop through the northern-most and smallest grove of giant sequoias. The grove, which was discovered in 1855, is very much off the beaten path, on a high ridge surrounded by deep, gorge-like valleys, about 25 miles east of Foresthill on Mosquito Ridge Road. Many people pass right by on their way to French Mead...ows Reservoir. Consider making a stop to visit this little gem of the Tahoe National Forest! Did you know? The four named trees in the Placer Big Trees grove are all honor World War I leaders Giant sequoias have very specific climate requirements, so specific that they grow naturally only in a narrow 260-mile strip of mixed conifer forest on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains, primarily between 5,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation. They can live up to 3,000 years. They are incredibly hardy; they resist fungal rot, wood-boring beetles and their thick bark is flame resistant; they owe all of this unusual strength to the presence of tannic acids. Giant sequoias only reproduce by seeds which sometimes remain in the cone for 20 years. Forest fires help open the cones which then grow from the burnt, bare soil. Barbara Sue, front desk extraordinaire of the TNF Supervisor’s Office visits the Big Trees last weekend and we wanted to take a moment to share her photos. Thanks Barbara Sue!

Statewide National Forest Fire Restrictions Extended; Tahoe National Forest Continues Dispersed Camping and Target Shooting Prohibitions The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region has extended statewide fire restrictions in California through October 30, 2020. In a separate Forest Closure Order, the Tahoe National Forest continues to prohibit dispersed camping and target shooting. Popular activities such as hunting, hiking, boating, and other types of general recreatio...n are allowed. The dispersed camping and target shooting prohibitions continue through October 31, 2020. More information, including a list of open campgrounds: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tahoe/news-events/

Throughout the fire season, as National Resources, the 3 highly skilled Tahoe National Forest Interagency Hotshot Crews have been fighting the large fires burning across the state and the West 14 days at a time, with a couple days to rest in between fire assignments. They’ve worked 16 hour day or night shifts in rugged terrain, amidst dynamic fuel and weather conditions while carrying out a multitude of fire suppression operations securing critical areas of these complex wild...fires for the protection of life, property, and natural resources. So where are they now? At this hour, 2200, the Tahoe Hotshots, having arrived in Colorado yesterday to begin work as a night shift resource, are engaged in fighting the 206,977 acre Cameron Peak Fire. The American River Hotshots, after completing 27 total night shifts on the North Complex on neighboring Plumas National Forest have finished day 11 assigned to the August Complex-(Northwest Zone) that has burned 1,032,264 acres. The Truckee Hotshots safely returned home today from 14 days assigned to the August Complex. Hotshot Peter Ross shared the crew’s experience of an opportunity to utilize their specialized skills to provide assistance to the public. A pretty large snag fell along a walking path near a home; we met the homeowner (Jackie) and she showed us where the water line/walking path used to be. Sawyer Ron Conlon put the tree on the ground and chiseled out some stairs up and over the snag. Just as the other 2 TNF Hotshot crews have been doing throughout the fire season, the Truckee Hotshots will return to duty after their days off ready for their next assignment, wherever the need for their assistance takes them.

Tahoe National Forest Christmas Tree Permits Available Online Keep the family tradition alive this year -or start a new tradition- by cutting a Christmas tree within the Tahoe National Forest. Experience cool mountain air, the forest floor crunching beneath your boots, and finding that perfect tree in a hidden glade Forest Service Christmas Tree Permits for the Tahoe National Forest will be available online at Recreation.gov beginning October 22, 2020. The Forest has moved a...ll permit sales online to provide an alternative to in-person transactions which are currently unavailable due to Tahoe National Forest Offices still being closed to the public. The Christmas Tree Permit webpage can be found at: https://go.usa.gov/x7qju Non-refundable permits are $10.00, one tree per permit with a limit of two permits per household. Permits may be used only on the Tahoe National Forest between November 6th and December 31st. Although tree cutting is permitted through December 31st, officials recommend cutting early in the season before higher elevations become snowbound. Trees can stay fresh for several weeks when properly stored. Because trees begin to lose moisture as soon as they are cut, place them in water as soon as possible. The Forest Service staff asks permit holders to practice good stewardship and be sure the Christmas tree is located on National Forest lands before cutting. Tree cutting areas may not be accessible by vehicle due to poor road conditions; tree cutters should be prepared to hike, ski, or snowshoe to find their Christmas tree. Tree cutters should also be prepared for unpredictable weather changes and colder conditions in higher elevations. A fun family outing can become dangerous for the unprepared during rapidly changing weather patterns. Plan your trip accordingly: check the weather and road conditions, let someone know where you are going and when you will return, have a full tank of fuel in your vehicle, bring plenty of warm clothes, water, emergency food, tire chains, shovel, a saw or axe to cut your tree, and a tarp and rope to bring it home.

The Red Flag Warning in effect for areas across the Tahoe National Forest has been extended thru Friday for gusty winds and low humidity. Despite a cooling trend forecasted this weekend, critical fire weather conditions conducive to rapid fire spread are expected to continue into early next week. Please adhere to TNF Fire, Camping, and Shooting Restrictions and exercise caution while recreating to prevent an accidental wildfire start. Full Restrictions- https://www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe/

Presenting TNFTacticalTuesday Tahoe National Forest Firefighters explain wildland firefighting tactics and terminology they commonly use to provide a better understanding of what they are doing to protect communities and natural resources locally and nationally as the fire season progresses. Today’s Tactic- The Tactical Use of TNF Fire Engines. This time every year, TNF Truckee Engine Crews open their doors and the firefighters give public tours of the station and the engine...s during Truckee’s Big Truck Day. Blake Willick, Assistant Fire Engine Operator for Sierraville’s new Engine 361 opens all the doors with an all access engine tour, in order to continue the Big Truck Day tradition of engaging the public in the communities across the Tahoe National Forest that TNF firefighters are proud to serve. We look forward to being a part of community events once again and appreciate the public’s support and effort in preventing wildfires. (Photos and videos feature all TNF Engines) See more