Tahoe Truckee Region Resilience Digest

Fire lookout towers are often referred to as one of “the first lines of defense” when it comes to identifying new wildfires. Towers across both El Dorado and Amador counties are staffed with volunteers, most of whom have backgrounds as first responders.

After California lost over 4 million acres to fire in 2020, the state funded Task Force Rattlesnake, with National Guardsmen to assist Cal Fire.

Summer heatwaves can strain California’s electricity supply, prompting energy emergency notifications to appear across highway signs and social media.

As sea levels rise, many countries are considering a controversial strategy: relocation of communities. A Stanford analysis of planned relocations around the world reveals a blueprint for positive outcomes from an approach often considered a last resort.

With fire season officially here, public service agencies gathered at Palisades Tahoe on July 19 to participate in a Tahoe Basin Critical Incident and Fire Preparedness training exercise.

Luis Yauri Oyola hopes one day to buy a tractor to start a business in Peru; he estimates that he is six years away from that goal, for which he will have spent more than a decade of his life living thousands of miles away from his family. He is on call 24/7 and doesn’t leave the job site except for necessities.

Nevada County was added to the Presidential FEMA Individual Assistance Declaration for the February 2023 Winter Storms, which makes new resources available to residents and businesses that experienced damages or hardships due to this year’s winter storms.

If you live pretty much anywhere in California, you’re familiar with to-do lists that help residents prepare for wildfires. What might be missing from the lists are ways to deal with stress and anxiety.

El Dorado County supervisors added their support to Assembly Bill 704, which assists those who lost their homes in a disaster—like the Caldor and Mosquito fires—by eliminating the state’s requirement that their new homes include a solar power system.

Winter storm damage is a chance to make the changes to your house you’ve always wanted, but having help to navigate the insurance process can make a big difference.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that by the end of the year all insurance companies will be mandated to offer a discount to insured members who create defensible defensible space and adhere to guidelines outlined by Firewise USA.

Cal Fire will be testing use of German environmental start-up Dryad Networks’ “ultra-early” wildfire detection technology to improve fire detection speeds. A pilot program will test 400 of Dryad’s sensors in the largest of Cal Fire's 10 demonstration forests—Jackson Demonstration State Forest in Mendocino County.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced that $142.6 million has been awarded, including a chunk for a Placer County project, for statewide investments in fire recovery and forest health projects.

Asphalt pavement formulated with recycled plastic has successfully survived heavy truck traffic and the atmospheric rivers of the winter of 2022-23 after a section of California State Route 99 flooded in January.

El Dorado County agencies will receive a portion of the $142 million in grants, which will go to projects intended to enhance carbon storage while restoring the health and resilience of existing and recently burned forests.

With a surge in inquiries and permit applications for whole house generators, the city of South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission will discuss whether noise policies should be revisited by the city council.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and California Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil will speak at an event in May that will help residents understand new wildfire mitigation, insurance, and home inspection laws.

Truckee Fire has opened applications for its Wildfire Prevention Grant Program for up to $1 million in funding for fuel reduction and community preparedness projects.

This winter has been anything but typical, and the parks crew are working overtime to compensate for the record snowfall.

Readiness to perform public wintertime backcountry rescues is essential for Placer County’s snowy foothills and mountain communities.

The 275,000-acre North Yuba Landscape within California’s Tahoe National Forest is one of the largest contiguous unburned areas in the Sierra Nevada. The Forest Service and a group of eight partners are working to implement a Wildfire Crisis Strategy in the area.

The South Lake Tahoe council passed an ordinance combining special events and temporary uses and voted to enter a lease for new snow removal equipment..

For most Californians, the sight of aircraft spewing neon pink liquid over flaming trees and brush has become a hallmark of aggressive wildfire suppression campaigns. But some forest advocates say the substance does more harm than good. A federal lawsuit could reshape how the U.S. Forest Service battles wildfires throughout the western United States.

Rain on snow events bring unique challenges to wastewater operations at Lake Tahoe. As streets and meadows flood, stormwater seeps through manholes and into the sewer system.

More than 100 buildings in the South Lake Tahoe area have been inspected for structural integrity over the past week following record snowfall too heavy for some structures to support.

South Lake Tahoe is making a $3.5 million investment into new snow removal equipment.

Olympic Valley Fire Department Chief Allen Riley offers a few reminders to help stay safe during this wintery weather.

Placer County officials are advising residents and businesses in snow-affected areas to safely clear their roofs of snow loads as much as possible prior to the anticipated atmospheric river.

The Truckee Donner Public Utility District’s board of directors held its March meeting and approved water infrastructure upgrades and electric vehicle purchases.

El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Leikauf proclaimed a local emergency for the major winter storms in February and March.

Placer County proclaimed a local emergency to deal with the impacts from ongoing winter storms—an assertion of continuing risk to life and property.

Congressman Kevin Kiley spent the morning at the county’s Emergency Operations Center in Nevada City, assessing the winter storm response this past week.