Residents, officials debate how to create a defensible wildfire buffer in the Tahoe Basin – Reno Gazette Journal

Retired South Lake Tahoe city manager David Jinkens talks about the need for fire mitigation on Oct. 15, 2020. Reno Gazette Journal

Former South Lake Tahoe City Manager David Jinkens remembers when the 2007 Angora Fire blazed through the region and hes worried that state and federally-managed lands in the Tahoe Basin arent being managed properly to keep a wildfire at bay.

But California and Nevada land managers say government agencies are steadily reducing wildfire fuels and that homeowners should trust the system. They also cite previous failed attempts to allow residents to mitigate fuels on public land near their homes.

Its a unique situation up there where you live in a forested environment, and people should be aware they live in a forested environment, said Charlie Donohue, administrator for the Nevada Division of State Lands. We dont just manage our lands for fuels reduction. We manage them for wildlife and watersheds.

But Jinkens isnt satisfied with that answer.

Retired city manager David Jinkens poses for a portrait in an overgrown tract of California Tahoe Conservancy land near some homes in the Tahoe Keys neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe on Oct. 15, 2020.(Photo: JASON BEAN)

Jinkens is lobbying the South Lake Tahoe City Council to take legal action against state and federal agencies he feels arent properly managing public lands, and area fire chiefs late last year asked state agencies to allow private citizens to do fuel reduction work on state land.

Were happy we have open space, but they arent maintaining them, Jinkens said. You would think they would understand their job is to do that not on their timeline, but on an urgency basis.

I dont want us to become the town of Paradise. We are, in South Lake, less prepared than they were in the town of Paradise.

In 2018, the Little Hoover Commission, an independent state oversight agency, reported that of the 33 million acres of forest in California, about 57%is overseen by the federal government either the U.S. Forest Service of the Bureau of Land Management. About 40%is privately held, and the other 3%is state or locally managed.

In the Tahoe Basin, about 155,000 acres are federally managed, according to Forest Schafer, acting chief of natural resources for the California Tahoe Conservancy.Nevada manages about 7,000 acres; about 28,000 acres are privately owned or tribal property; and California owns about 13,500 acres.

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Of those 13,500 acres, the CTC oversees about half while the other half is primarily overseen by the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

We can, and should, do more. But I dont want to put that responsibility on every citizen to manage the lands. I dont think the solution is you only get defensible space if you make it yourself.

Donohoe said Nevada acquired a substantial amount of its Tahoe-area property in the 1980sfollowing the Tahoe Bond Act, which allowed the state to acquire lands threatened with development, that provided lakeshore access for wildlife or public recreation, or to consolidate land ownership for more effective management.

The conservancy also acquired environmentally sensitive parcels, securing more than 6,500 acres on the California side of the basin since 1985.

The CTC oversees about 600 parcels in South Lake Tahoes city limits. Most of the parcels are small about a third of an acre or less.

Donohoe said that in the past, the state operated a Good Neighbor program that sold properties back to adjacent private property owners who would then manage the lands themselves, but the program was terminated within a couple of years.

That Good Neighbor policy went away because our neighbors werent really being that good in terms of performing good conservation values, Donohoe said.

A home is seen next to an overgrown tract of California Tahoe Conservancy land in the Tahoe Keys neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe on Oct. 15, 2020. (Photo: JASON BEAN)

Now, Jinkens advocates that policies allowing private homeowners to mitigate fuels around their properties should be considered.

They dont want to do the job and they dont want to let us do the job, Jinkens said. A good step would be for CTC to adopt a policy similar to the Forest Service to allow people to go onto their property to create fire breaks.

Jenkins is referring to the USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Units Urban Lot Management Program, which allows homeowners to clear defensible space such as dead and downed trees and pine needles on federally owned urban lots within 100 feet of a residential structure. With additional permitting, residents can perform additional defensible space work including large tree removal and clearing beyond 100 feet from their residence.

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In late 2019, seven Tahoe Basin fire chiefs echoed Jenkins sentiments when they wrote to the CTC and the Nevada Division of State Lands requesting access for private property owners to implement defensible space measures on state-owned urban lots within 100 feet of residential structures.

I said no, Donohoe said. We already have problems with people going on our property and removing trees and vegetation illegally for views enhancement and calling it fuel mitigation.

Schafer agrees theres a problem, but says agencies are working toward solutions.

One of my goals is every private citizen doesnt have to come to us because we are doing it ourselves, he said. We can, and should, do more. But I dont want to put that responsibility on every citizen to manage the lands. I dont think the solution is you only get defensible space if you make it yourself. We want to make it consistent between every lot in the basin and we are working toward that.

To address fire concerns on its property, CTC takes two approaches, Schafer said. Neighborhood-wide fuel reduction cleanups are held every five to 10 years in each neighborhood, he said. And, the agency also responds to reports of individual parcel concerns.

A marker indicating a tract of California Tahoe Conservancy land is seen in the Tahoe Keys neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe on Oct. 15, 2020.(Photo: JASON BEAN)

About 95% of CTCs properties have had at least one fuel treatment, he said. The agency, as well as many other entities, are a little behind the ball with treatments though because treating for fuel reduction wasnt a major push until the early 2000s. The Angora Fire really pushed that even more. We started treating even more lots.

In 2019, the CTC treated 467 acres of conservancy land, the most it has treated in a year since 2007.

Donohoe said 99% of Nevadas properties in the Tahoe basin have received at least one fuel reduction treatment and that many properties have received three to four treatments.

There is risk in the city and there is risk in the basin of a really significant fire, Schafer said. There is still a lot more that can be done. Residents have done so much, agencies have done so much, but theres so much more we need to do to keep reducing our risk.

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There are courses of action residents can take besides just waiting for the state to remove dead trees, according to Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District Fire Marshall Eric Guevin.

What we tell our communities is reach out to your fire district and see what you can do with your partners, he said.

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Guevin said if a private resident contacted his fire district, a crew member would visit the homeowner to address the concerns, andif they are valid, help the homeowner connect with the proper state or federal agency to remove the fuel.

There is a lot of fuel out there. We need to be always aggressive in approaching it. There is a fire threat in the basin, he said. The sky is not falling but we always need to be proactive.

City of South Lake Tahoe Fire/Rescue Chief Clyde Savacool said he is working with Jenkins to establish a committee with community stakeholders and the CTC to address the issue.

We want to have a global picture of this entire area and do a site inspection for all these lots. Where is our greatest risk for wildfire, whats going to be our evacuation routes? he said. The goal is leave the city with a wildfire plan that the current or any future administration could follow.

Say we all left tomorrow, we would be able to hand this plan over and say, here is the wildfire plan to protect South Lake Tahoe.

Amy Alonzo covers the outdoors, recreation and environment for Nevada and Lake Tahoe.Reach her at aalonzo@gannett.comor (775) 741-8588.Here's how you can support ongoing coverage and local journalism.

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Residents, officials debate how to create a defensible wildfire buffer in the Tahoe Basin - Reno Gazette Journal