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Soot from Tahoe fire threatens long-term damage to the lake’s clarity

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 26, 2007 at 8:52 pm

From the Associated Press/Press Enterprise:

Regarding the fire in south Lake Tahoe:

All parties have long agreed that the amount of fuel in Tahoe’s forests had reached critical levels, but little was done to address the problem during years of wrangling among environmentalists and government agencies over a plan to thin the forests and reduce the fire threat. Environmental groups were wary of causing air pollution through controlled burns or jeopardizing the health of the forests by logging. Meanwhile, public officials argued among themselves over how best to address the wildfire threat without harming fragile forest ecosystems. Even homeowners wanting to cut trees on their own land were hamstrung by strict local planning rules regarding care of the forest.

In April, the U.S. Forest Service finally settled on a 10-year plan to thin and burn 38,000 acres of forest to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. But it was too little, too late, local leaders say.

To read the rest of this article from the AP/Press-Enterprise, click here.

June 26, 2007 · Filed Under General Water Issues

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