Climate Resilience Dashboard
EIP Project Tracker
Lake Clarity Tracker
Monitoring Dashboard
Parcel Tracker
Threshold Dashboard
Transportation Tracker
Overview
Basics
Basics
This project reduced hazardous fuels using hand-thinning and pile-burning on 78 acres of private and local government-owned land. The treatment increased conifer spacing, along with the mean diameter of leave trees. This equates to a substantial reduction in the threat of catastrophic wildfire and drastic improvements in forest health. All areas treated were within the defense zone of the wildland-urban interface, and adjacent to the community of Carnelian Bay, CA. It is among highest priorities identified in the Lake Tahoe Basin Community
Wildfire Protection Plan and is endorsed by the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team.
Completed
2021
2022
2025
$253,500
April Shackelford (shackelford@ntfire.net)
02/28/2023
01/26/2026
|
To zoom, hold down the Shift key and drag a rectangle.
|
|
| Location Information | Location Notes |
|---|---|
Organizations
Organizations
| California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) | Whitney Brennan - California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) | |||
| North Tahoe Fire Protection District (NTFPD) | April Shackelford - North Tahoe Fire Protection District (NTFPD) |
EIP Details
EIP Basics
EIP Basics
02.01.01.0131 - NTFPD Carnelian Canyon Project
Performance Measures
Expected Performance Measures
Expected Performance Measures
| Acres of Forest Fuels Reduction Treatment | [Initial or Maintenance Treatment: Maintenance], [Property Ownership: Private], [Treatment Type: Hand Thinning], [Treatment Zone: Community Defense Zone] | 78 | acres |
Reported Performance Measures
Reported Performance Measures
| Acres of Forest Fuels Reduction Treatment | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total | Units | ||||
| Initial or Maintenance Treatment | Property Ownership | Treatment Type | Treatment Zone | ||||||
| Maintenance | Private | Hand Thinning | Community Defense Zone | 78 | 78 | acres | |||
| Maintenance | Private | Prescribed Burning | Community Defense Zone | 21.6 | 47.6 | 8.8 | 78 | acres | |
| Total | 78 | 21.6 | 47.6 | 8.8 | 156 | acres | |||
Funding
Expected Funding
Expected Funding
$253,500
$253,500
$0
| Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) | $253,500 | $253,500 | $0 |
| Grand Total | $253,500 | $253,500 | $0 |
Reported Expenditures
Reported Expenditures
| Total | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Tahoe Conservancy | $211,667 | $25,672 | $27,974 | $10,031 | $147,990 | $0 |
| Grand Total | $211,667 | $25,672 | $27,974 | $10,031 | $147,990 | $0 |
Photos
NTPUD tank property before hand thinning
(Timing: Before) (~5,273 KB)
NTPUD SEZ property before hand-thinning. Photo is looking to the south-west and towards the SEZ.
(Timing: Before) (~6,581 KB)
NTPUD SEZ property before hand thinning. Photo is taken from the bottom of the drainage.
(Timing: Before) (~6,853 KB)
The larger landscape after hand-thinning had taken place. This maintenance treatment called for less material to be removed so fewer piles needed to be built and project costs are reduced.
(Timing: During) (~4,930 KB)
Agate Bay Water property looking towards Carnelian Canyon Creek
(Timing: Before) (~5,407 KB)
First 19 acres of piles burning in October 2023.
(Timing: During) (~1,299 KB)
Pile burn was implemented by local 2396 Cal-Fire Unit with critical support from the Ca Conservation Corp based in Auburn, CA
(Timing: During) (~930 KB)
Burning piles in the snow.
(Timing: During) (~1,109 KB)
Chunking in piles brings back flaming combustion and leads to a pleasant orange glow in the evening.
(Timing: During) (~621 KB)
Assistance from Cal-Fire, CCC's, & Bear River Fuels Management Crew
(Timing: During) (~1,348 KB)
Local Cal-Fire 2385 provided tremendous assistance in carrying out the pile burning operation.
(Timing: During) (~1,186 KB)
Snow covered pile, just about to burn hot
(Timing: During) (~1,037 KB)
Piles burning down on Agate Bay Water Property.
(Timing: During) (~1,348 KB)
Piles burning on Carnelian Woods Property
(Timing: During) (~1,605 KB)
Other Details
Watersheds
No watersheds set for this project.
Threshold Categories
-
The project will reduce forest fuels and enhance old-growth forests.
Local and Regional Plans
Related Projects
Related Projects
No Related Projects set for this project.
External Links
Notes
Notes
| 01/08/2026 12:36 PM | April Shackelford | The final 8.8 acres were completed early in the 2025 calendar year. A special thank you goes out to Cal-Fire Battalion Chief 2305 and our local 2385 Engine Team for completing the majority of this pile burning project. We are also grateful for assistance from Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District who responded to a call for assistance when the Cal-Fire crews were called away to the Palisades and Eaton, January 2025. This work would not have happened without partnerships and local resources. Thank you to all involved! This pile burning operation followed a hand thinning treatment in 2022 that highlights the partnership North Tahoe Fire has with the California Tahoe Conservancy. We will remain grateful for Conservancy funding for both the hand-thinning and pile burning. I'd also like to thank the neighbors and Agate Bay Firewise. Due to their organization, we were able to reach more residents as their Firewise leadership is able to email announcements out to the majority of residents and due to the duration of this work, it was important to keep residents informed and updated as the project work carried on. Thanks neighbors! We are all benefitting from improved safety in the neighborhood. |
||
| 01/13/2025 1:38 PM | April Shackelford | We were able to utilize a decent window to carry-on with pile burning, completing 47.6 acres in the 2024 calendar year. Near-by pile burning projects over winter 2023/2024 caused fire to creep away from piles and led to the smoldering of pine needles, forest duff, and other semi-decomposed materials. This led to smoke duration that lasted much longer than anticipated, and the complaints that were heard by the air board then led to violations and fees to other partner agencies. With the intent to avoid this kind of smoke and any air quality violations, we waited for more snow on the ground. The next storm brought about 18" of snow, making ignitions very challenging. We have been able to avoid smoke violations, but the burning is taking longer than expected calling for more personnel time. It was intended for this project to be completed in 2023 or by early 2024. It will now be into 2025 before this project will be done. We need to find ways to open up the burning window, not make it smaller. The amount of landscape that needs fuels reduction and prescribed fire is staggering. While the burning of this material is natural, and fire is a natural and reoccurring force on the landscape, people are stopping this process from happening. We must stop wildfire to protect our communities, and we must use prescribed fire to reduce fuels so that we can stop a wildfire when it threatens our community. Too much fuel and wildfire cannot be stopped. Smoke is an inherent impact and we must learn how to live with it. |
||
| 12/27/2023 4:57 PM | April Shackelford | At this time, 19 acres of piles have been burned as part of this 78 acre project. We await the next burn window when the ground has adequate moisture or snow cover and a storm is predicted in the coming week. These conditions will create a safe conditions to burn piles and incoming winds to carry most of the smoke away. | ||
| 01/06/2023 12:15 PM | April Shackelford | Planning for this project had already taken place in 2021 prior to the appointment of a new Forest Fuels Manager at the North Tahoe Fire Protection District. The California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) is a partner to this project and 208 acres of their property was treated for fuels reduction in conjunction with this 78 acre project. All 286 acres were hand-thinned in 2022 and the piles will be burned in winter 2023/2024. Most of this acreage has had at least one treatment at some point in the past, so this treatment does more to improve forest health and resiliency as the bulk of hazardous fuels were previously reduced. |