Panel seeks emergency declaration for Lake Tahoe fire-prevention
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.—A special panel created after last summer’s Lake Tahoe wildfire warned Friday that another catastrophic blaze is imminent and wants a disaster declaration to hasten fire-protection efforts.
Asking for the emergency status from the president and the governors of California and Nevada was among dozens of recommendations the panel approved.
The California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission wants the state and federal governments to free up money quickly, primarily to cut thick stands of trees.
The commission gave unanimous approval to a report containing more than 70 recommendations. Many of them are intended to resolve the bureaucratic infighting among overlapping agencies that has hampered fire-prevention efforts for years.
The report also recommended imposing higher taxes on property owners, requiring home owners to replace wood shingles and upgrading the Tahoe basin’s water systems, which together could cost more than $300 million over 20 years.
California co-chairwoman Kate Dargan, the state’s fire marshal, said the short-term emergency need is much less—under $10 million a year in each of the next five years to clear overgrown forests around communities.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons established the commission after the Angora Fire destroyed 254 homes and caused $140 million in property damage last June in South Lake Tahoe. … [more]