Mission Statement:
To Reduce our Community's Wildfire Risk and Improve Forest Health by Effective Fuels Management Practices.
Sice the mid-1990s, NLTFPD's Fuels Management Division has been implementing fuels reduction programs that not only contribute to the reduction of wildfire risk in our community but also improve forest health. To date we have treated over 3000 acres in the Incline Village/Crystal Bay area by different methods.
The term “fuels” is used in the fire service as something that burns in the environment. We deal with the problem of an overstocked forest with dense brush that has led to the listing of Incline Village/Crystal Bay as an “Extreme Hazard” as defined in the Code Of Federal Registrars.
Manual fuel treatments consist of both brush and tree removal by hand to meet the above objectives. Where feasible, mechanical thinning involving heavy equipment is used to reduce cost and increase efficiency. Prescribed burning is an additional step to manual treatment. In some areas we burn the ground fuels after manual treatment has taken place. The burning not only reduces wildfire risk but promotes forest regeneration.
The Fuels Management Division conducts prescribed burning in the Fall. The burns are conducted under strict guidelines that follow a prescription. The district's goal is to burn approximately 100 acres every year. Our burns are driven and guided by weather. We have to meet numerous weather and other parameters in order to conduct a burn. We also continuously strive to mitigate the effects of smoke in our community.
NLTFPD's Hand Crews:
In 1999, because of a growing awareness of the increased risks posed by wild land fires to homes because of unnatural fuel accumulations, the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District established a six person hand crew. This crew was created to conduct all aspects of fuels management activities in the Incline Village and Crystal Bay areas that would reduce the risks from wildfire, especially near the homes in the area. It also functioned as an initial and extended-attack fire suppression crew.
Since its inception in 1999, the Slide Mountain Hand Crew has proven to be a highly effective tool in reducing hazardous fuels, and has become a highly visible representative of the NLTFPD, working on a daily basis from the spring through the winter.
The Fire District currently maintains three 20-person hand crews: Rifle Peak Hand Crew (C-1), Slide Mountain Hand Crew (C-2) and Incline Hand Crew (C-3). Hand Crews complete the majority of fuels management work in and around the district. Most work performed by these highly skilled crews is on property owned by other agencies. We have strong partnerships with the United States Forest Service (Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit), the Nevada Division of Forestry, Nevada State Lands, and the Incline Village General Improvement District (IVGID).
All three are classified as Type II Initial Attack fire crews by National Wildfire Coordination Group (NWCG) standards, allowing them to respond to wildfires across the Sierra Front and the western states to learn and stay proficient in wildland firefighting. They play a key role in our preparedness to suppress a wildfire here in Incline/Crystal Bay and have responded to assist in flooding, rescues and any time strong hands are needed to serve our communitiy's public safety needs.
If you are interested in joining a hand crew, please visit the
employment page and
contact a crew supervisor.
This unique program has been considered a leader in the today’s fire service. We believe it is far better to remove hazardous fuels before the fire starts. We are concerned about the environment and the future of our community, and we do our best to balance the needs of both.
Our Division Chief Norb Szczurek leads this program. Working in the wildland firefighting and hazardous fuels reduction fields since 1976, his extensive background in these areas offers a broad knowledge base for our Fire DIstrict's fuels management efforts.