Inside the Halo: Incline Village/Crystal Bay’s Line of Defense Against Wildfire

by | Dec 11, 2025 | Uncategorized

In mid-October, I attended a Desert Research Institute symposium in Reno focused on resiliency, recovery, and response to the increasing intensity of wildfires across the U.S. (but especially the West).

I’ve written numerous articles about wildfire since my start with Moonshine in May 2019, including monitoring and reporting on the devastations of the Caldor, Dixie, and Tamarack fires in 2021. Firefighters have been telling me since the beginning that wildfire is not contained to the hot months anymore, but something about the various panels and discussions at this AWE+ 2025 Collaborative shifted everything into a new, glaring light.

Some of what I learned can be found on p. 14, regarding fire insurance coverage in California and Nevada. Other topics will be covered in future editions of the Ink.

For the December 2025/January 2026 edition, I wanted to double down on the fact that fire knows no state lines or jurisdictions or seasons — but neither do our fire experts. I learned at the symposium that North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, which covers Incline Village and Crystal Bay, is in the midst of creating a massive buffer around the communities, known as the halo.

Here’s what they said.

~ AH

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District is working to create a wildfire-mitigated buffer around Incline Village and Crystal Bay. Can you tell me more about this effort?

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District (NLTFPD) manages 1,632 acres of forest land bordering the communities of Incline Village and Crystal Bay, referred to by NLTFPD as the Halo of Wildfire Mitigation Management (see map below). The halo comprises land owned by the Incline Village General Improvement District (993.2 acres) as well as privately owned land (multiple landowners, 627.1 acres), and land owned by the state of Nevada (11.7 acres). The objectives for the management of this land that makes up the Halo include wildfire fuels mitigation as well as forest health, wildlife habitat sustainability, and water quality.

Every treatment unit within the halo has received at least one wildfire fuels mitigation treatment, with most treatment units now on their second and third reentry treatment. New technology, which includes remotely operated mastication machinery and computer modeling of forest fuel loading, has allowed NLTFPD to increase the pace and scale of wildfire fuels mitigation projects. Wildfire fuels mitigation treatments on all halo treatment units will reoccur with a goal of a five- to seven-year cycle for reentry going forward.

DIVINE PROTECTION: North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District’s halo project is intended to mitigate the over 1,600 acres bordering Incline Village and Crystal Bay by applying treatment on a five- to seven-year cycle. Courtesy map

NLTFPD has a [fuels division] dedicated to wildfire fuels mitigation work around the communities of Incline Village and Crystal Bay and wildfire suppression within NLTFPD’s jurisdictional boundaries and nationwide. The division consists of 17 permanent full-time employees and 39 full-time seasonal employees employed from May through November.

When not assigned to a wildland fire incident, Fuels Division personnel work on fuels mitigation projects on the halo and other land around Incline Village and Crystal Bay. 2025 has been a productive year, with 242.2 acres of wildfire fuels mitigation work completed to date, with another 19 acres in progress NLTFPD expects to be completed by mid-December. Some of the highlights of this year were surrounding the Apollo Way neighborhood on three sides with wildfire fuels mitigation work and the completion of Phase 1 of the Worm Project.

In 2025, NLTFPD, in partnership with IVGID, began a 168.4-acre wildfire fuels mitigation project dubbed the Worm (see map to the right), which is designed to create a buffer of more intensely managed forest land around neighborhoods above Highway 431 in Incline Village. Its area begins at the boundary of private property and extends 132 feet deep on IVGID-owned land as it wraps around the residential neighborhoods above Highway 431.

WORMING ITS WAY: NLTFPD’s Worm Project is a more intense buffer within the halo project, designed to manage forest land around neighborhoods above Highway 431 in Incline Village. Courtesy map

Wildfire mitigation objectives of the Worm will be met by creating separation in the understory brush and removing suppressed trees within the project area. An estimated 10% to 15% of the native brush cover will be retained in a mosaic pattern to preserve a natural aesthetic to the landscape, sustain wildlife habitat, maintain soil stability, and protect water quality.

Phase 2 (105.8-acres) is set to begin July 2026 and completed by the following month. The Worm Project will be repeated every three years as opposed to the five- to seven-year reentry schedule of the rest of the halo treatment units.

Phase 1 of the Worm Project was funded entirely by IVGID. Phase 2 will be funded by a grant from the State of Nevada administered by the Nevada Division of Forestry, with IVGID providing a 10% match to the project funding.

~ NLTFPD Fuels Division Chief Isaac Powning and Forester Jason Furmaniak