SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The California Tahoe Conservancy has awarded a $2.2 million grant to the City of South Lake Tahoe to reduce wildfire risk for south shore communities and schools. The City will use the funds to facilitate fuel hazard reduction treatments on 213 acres of local public land, including:

• 137.5 acres of City-owned public land
• 41 acres of Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) land
• 35.3 acres of El Dorado County-owned public land.

The City and County land includes properties around the courthouse and law enforcement facilities at Al Tahoe Boulevard and Johnson Boulevard, at Bijou Community Park, and County open space lots. LTUSD properties to be treated include South Tahoe Middle School, Bijou Community School, Tahoe Valley Elementary School, Sierra House Elementary School, and Meyers Elementary School.

“The work this grant will fund is a great example of how partnerships can accomplish more together, faster, to protect communities and visitors,” said South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Division Chief Jay Manning.

The Conservancy awarded this grant using Climate Bond (Proposition 4) funds.

Forestry activities funded by this grant will reduce the quantity and continuity of the forest fuels that increase wildfire risk. By reducing fuels and thinning overcrowded forest on these public lands, these treatments will improve forest health and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, protecting life and property of the residents and visitors to South Lake Tahoe.

All properties considered for fuel hazard reduction treatments under this grant are high priority for forest health and fuels reduction treatment, and include public lands along evacuation routes, as identified in the Lake Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The LTUSD properties are also identified as temporary refuge areas—meaning spaces where community members or firefighters can seek refuge from flames and heat in a fire event where evacuation is no longer possible.”We’re thankful for the City of South Lake Tahoe’s leadership in advancing this effort, which will make south shore forested lands within the community more resilient and better prepared for wildfire,” said Conservancy Executive Director Jason Vasques.

The Conservancy and the City collaborated with Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) partners in developing this grant. The TFFT is a Basinwide partnership that includes 21 federal, Tribal, state, and local conservation, land management, and fire agencies. This grant advances the TFFT’s goals to improve wildfire resilience within the wildlife-urban interface, the areas where neighborhoods and forests meet.

The City’s work funded by this grant also advances the goals of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP).

Tahoe Resource Conservation District helped set the stage for this work by providing Registered Professional Forester services in developing the vegetation management plans for the projects.