SOUTH LAKE TAHOE – Forest thinning is scheduled to resume this week on National Forest lands between Fallen Leaf Road and Camp Richardson Corral, as well as in the Spring Creek Homeowners Tract.

Over the next several months, tree thinning for wildfire fuels reduction and forest health will take place, reported the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Due to hazards posed by heavy equipment and falling trees, certain areas will be closed to the public. Closure signs will be posted.

“The forest thinning is part of the South Shore Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration Project, which will treat approximately 10,000 acres on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe to reduce the risk of severe wildfire, improve forest health, and provide defensible space to neighboring communities,” reads a Sept. 12 release from the U.S. Forest Service.

The agency noted that treated areas may look “disturbed” at first, but will visually recover within a few years.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, the benefits of forest thinning include reducing fuel for wildfires and competition for resources (like water, sunlight and nutrients), which allows the trees to grower larger and become more resistant to drought, insects and disease.