Fire officials and the U.S. Forest have received calls from the public regarding smoke and flames in south shore area of Lake Tahoe. The fires are planned controlled/prescribed fires.

Prescribed fire pile burn elimination began on about a 1-acre lot at Lakeridge, a 1.5-acre lot at Zephyr Heights along with a burn Cave Rock. Weather conditions permitting, this work will continue over the next several days, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Residents and travelers can expect to see smoke from prescribed fire project areas.

Be advised that other fire management agencies, state and local, may also be conducting prescribed fire operations during this period.

This and other prescribed fire projects are designed to reduce wildfire risks to communities and critical resources. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, and efforts will be taken to reduce actual or potential smoke impacts on community areas, according to the Forest Service.

To learn more about the efforts to reduce catastrophic wildfire risks in the Tahoe Basin, visit:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/ltbmu/documents/fuel-reduction-projects/10-year-plan/LTBCFP_Public_Presentation_8_3.pdf

To view maps that described current prescribed fire project locations, visit:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/ltbmu/fire/index.shtml

Take a few moments to visit an excellent web site and learn

about Prescribed Fire vs. Wildfire at:

http://www.smokeybear.com/good-bad.asp