July 2020 Newsletter
Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Month
July is Wildfire Awareness Month at Lake Tahoe! Although Lake Tahoe offers beautiful landscapes, endless recreation, and wonderful communities, living here means living with wildfire. As Tahoe residents, we must recognize the risks of living in a wildfire-prone area and get prepared now.
Sign Up for Emergency Notifications

Each county in Tahoe has their own "opt-in" emergency alert system. Make sure everyone in your family has signed up to receive notifications to their phone.


If you often travel around the basin, be sure to sign up for all four counties.
Pack an Emergency Go-Bag

A Go-Bag is an evacuation bag that contains a three-day supply of items you would need to safely evacuate your home. Be sure it contains the essentials:
  • Cash and extra credit cards
  • Medications and prescription glasses
  • Water and non-perishable food
  • Personal toiletries and clothing
  • Flashlight and batteries
  • First-Aid kit
  • Pet necessities
Prepare your bag in advance, before an emergency, and keep it in an easily accessible place.
Create Defensible Space
Defensible space  refers to the managed landscape surrounding your home that reduces the threat of a wildfire.
  • Create a non-combustible zone by removing pine needles, leaves, firewood, and combustible vegetation from the first 5' of your home.

  • Create a lean, clean, and green zone within 30' of your home with well-separated, healthy and irrigated vegetation.

  • Ensure that the wildland fuel reduction zone beyond 30' of your home has horizontal and vertical separation between trees and shrubs and no pine needle accumulation exceeding 3 inches.

Contact your local fire district  for a free defensible space inspection to get specifics on how to address and maintain the vegetation on your property.
Harden Your Home Against Wildfire Embers
Home hardening is the process of preparing your home for wildfire embers by addressing its most vulnerable components and retrofitting them with fire-resistant building materials.

  • Eaves - Fill gaps in open eave areas with durable caulk, and enclose eave areas to create soffited-eaves.

  • Siding - Replace wood shake or shingle siding with noncombustible siding such as stucco, steel or fiber cement.



Want to learn how to harden your home against wildfire embers from leading experts in the area? Join our FREE Home Retrofit Workshop on July 28th at 5:30PM.
Establish an Evacuation Plan
Evacuating a wildfire can be hectic and stressful. Make sure your family has a plan, and don't forget to practice it.
  • Meet with household members and explain dangers to children.

  • Identify escape routes and nearby safe places.

  • Post emergency phone numbers near phones.

  • Choose an out-of-town contact and make sure everyone knows the contact's phone number.
.
  • Learn how to turn off the water, gas, and electricity at your home.
Evacuate immediately when asked by fire or law enforcement officials, and remember that nothing you own is worth your life!
Get Your Neighborhood Involved

Preparing for wildfire is a team effort. The more prepared your neighbors are, the more prepared you are.


  • Use our free resources to educate your neighbors about wildfire, embers, and defensible space.

  • Host a block party or community workday through the Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities.
Upcoming Events

Want to learn how to harden your home against wildfire? Join our FREE virtual workshop and hear from leading experts Steve Quarles, Susie Kocher, and Christina Restaino on how to reduce your home's ember vulnerabilities.
July 28th, 2020
Tahoe Home Retrofit Workshop
5:30PM - 7:00PM