OFFICIAL TAHOE 18/19 STOKE, CONDITIONS, WEATHER THREAD

[LightRanger]

Thread for Sac showing of Far Out next week:
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...Film?p=5460407

[old goat]

Really good article about it here...
https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/ca...218559945.html

There is a large thinning project near Truckee--Big Jack East, adjacent to multiple subdivisions and along Sawtooth Road that accesses Big Chief climbing --that has been in planning for years and has run into considerable opposition from locals.

[TahoeJ]

I don't feel like the trees along the 06 fire road are particularly dense. Riding my bike all around that area, for the most part it looks like a healthy forest and well spread out. It's all of the fuel / underbrush that would be an issue in terms of fire safety. There are definitely some small tree patches that could be thinned, but nothing "major" IMO.

[StormDay]

Attachment 249734

Did anyone else order season passes for the whole family and only the primary account holder’s pass showed up?

We got all of ours at the same time. But everything else is the kit is the same as yours. only one lanyard.

[tahoearmada]

Just got back from the colorado run of TGRs Far Out! Next stop is Greater Nevada Field in Reno thursday evening, Ill be hosting and Djing the event. Come thru if youre in the area, gonna be a good one!
LightRanger: thanks for posting about our sac show next thursday the 18th!

[Quadzilla]

WTB, sorry wrong forum but ran into a guy who is from Israel and in Truckee for a day or two and looking for a pair of pin touring boots in a 27.5 shell or US 9.5-10. so if you have or know of any deals call him he says around $200. Anyway, only here for a short while Micha 425 625 7197

[old goat]

I don't feel like the trees along the 06 fire road are particularly dense. Riding my bike all around that area, for the most part it looks like a healthy forest and well spread out. It's all of the fuel / underbrush that would be an issue in terms of fire safety. There are definitely some small tree patches that could be thinned, but nothing "major" IMO.

That's the problem with thinning--to make removing the brush and small trees affordable the loggers need to be allowed to harvest enough mature timber. Since the Feds don't want to pay for pure thinning harvesting more mature trees than are needed for pure fire safety is the only option, besides letting it all burn.
http://www.moonshineink.com/opinion/...ease-fire-risk
(I don't know nearly enough about the subject to know whether the objectgions are valid.)

I wonder if, in order to make thinning work, low intensity fires have to be allowed through the thinned areas periodically to clear out the brush. I recall reading somewhere that before anglos came to the Sierra the landscape was widely spaced trees with mostly grass between, a landscape that would only be stable with frequent burning.

[bodywhomper]

The Tahoe west project would likely include thinning, riparian and meadow restoration, and a lot of fire.

[TahoeJ]

Interesting. So is it mostly being protested by people in Sierra Meadows who don’t want a bunch of loud trucks going back and forth all day?

Forest management is so contested these days since there are a lot of contradictory examples.

[old goat]

Kayaking on Donner Lake nice to see a little snow atop Mt Rose. Emphasis on "a little".

[old goat]

Interesting. So is it mostly being protested by people in Sierra Meadows who don’t want a bunch of loud trucks going back and forth all day?

Forest management is so contested these days since there are a lot of contradictory examples.

I'm not clear if it's more the neighbors or more people who recreate along the road and people who consider themselves environmentalists. Seems to me if I were a neighbor I'd be happy to put up with the noise to reduce the fire risk. A lot of folks up here having a hard time getting insurance--and not just up here of course.

[truckeelocal]

I went to one of the Forest Service outreach efforts and one point they made was when leaving the project area look in the neighborhood. I did and it's crazy the volume of trees on some of the larger private lots. By the way the last time the Big Jack East forest was maintained there was a deliberate effort to leave untouched small areas as 'nature islands' and then they allowed the single track trail (The Sawtooth Trail) to bounce into the nature islands to add diversity to the recreational experience.
But we need fire to maintain the forest most effectively. The NIMBYs don't want fire and they don't want to pay for active forest management and they don't want trucks going through the 'hood and they don't want … OK NIMBYs - over to you, what do you suggest ?

[powdork]

They've just treated the woods behind my neighborhood (fountainplace road/corral loop). the logging wasn't a big deal. i walk my dogs/ride my bike on the road every day. the traffic was worse than a typical logging operation as they were also putting in a new bridge but still no big deal.

[TahoeJ]

A lot of folks up here having a hard time getting insurance--and not just up here of course.

Oh, I'm aware. My insurance for the house in TD is three times more than my place in Sonoma, even though it's worth half as much. TD has their own forestry department and is impressively on top of fire prevention (they even won an award last year), but that still hasn't really had any impact with the insurance companies. I do wonder if insurance is going to be a major problem for the proposed development off 267. That's got to be a high fire danger zone based on the surrounding terrain.

[bodywhomper]

Insurance may not be difficult for a new development if the developer addresses the fire hazard correctly.

Generally, insurance is super challenging. They operate completely indifferent to things like nationally recognized fire safe/wise communities. I think the State is going to have to step in eventually. Possibly doing something similar to NFIP.

NIMBYs are most concerned about smoke from the perspective of prescribed fire. That is thought to be one of the biggest hurdles for the Tahoe west project.

[mcski]

Myself and three neighbors in my hood have been cancelled by our various home insurancecompanies. The companies view the area as too much of a risk for big fire losses and aren't writing any new policies and bailing on contracts they have whenever they are up for renewal

[old goat]

Oh, I'm aware. My insurance for the house in TD is three times more than my place in Sonoma, even though it's worth half as much. TD has their own forestry department and is impressively on top of fire prevention (they even won an award last year), but that still hasn't really had any impact with the insurance companies. I do wonder if insurance is going to be a major problem for the proposed development off 267. That's got to be a high fire danger zone based on the surrounding terrain.

I'm aware that you're aware, of course, but it seems like the folks complaining aren't. I wish truckee town and FD would get serious about enforcing defensible space. A lot of completely overgrown vacant lots next to developed lots where I live and a lot of the developed lots aren't much better. A lot of the houses are staggered--one house on the back of a long narrow lot, the next on the front, so you're dependent on your neighbor for defensible space. The town doing away with green bags isn't helping. Most people don't have the 90 gal yard waste cans and the trash company is out of them, as pine needle and dead grass season is in full swing. I'm not a fan of HOA's but in this case TD is doing it right, even if it doesn't help with the insurance issue.

There is a state program (FAIR) to provide fire insurance for people who can't get it commercially. Only covers fire, none of the other stuff homeowner's insurance covers. I hope never to find out what it costs.

[old goat]

On an actual ski-related note--my kid did get a $50, SVAM only, military pass--if any of you are in the service.

[LightRanger]

Insurance may not be difficult for a new development if the developer addresses the fire hazard correctly.

Generally, insurance is super challenging. They operate completely indifferent to things like nationally recognized fire safe/wise communities. I think the State is going to have to step in eventually. Possibly doing something similar to NFIP.

This isn't exactly on point, but getting there...
https://www.insurancejournal.com/new.../28/499398.htm

[bodywhomper]

This isn't exactly on point, but getting there...
https://www.insurancejournal.com/new.../28/499398.htm

Thanks

Never considered looking at insurance journal before

Sent from my SPH-L710 using TGR Forums mobile app

[TahoeJ]

On an actual ski-related note--my kid did get a $50, SVAM only, military pass--if any of you are in the service.

Does that only apply to active duty or do you know if it includes veterans? I have a few friends who would jump on that if it's the latter. Regardless, cool that they're still offering that outside of Ikon.

[tahoearmada]

dear god i never expected this thread to turn into an insurance conversation... luckily theres a chance of snow tonight and theres a TGR premier tomorrow... soon enough we will be talking about snow conditions and how well our new gear is holding up rather than insurance pricing and fire conditions
Hope to see some of you tomorrow night at Greater Nevada Field for the Far Out Premier!

[bodywhomper]

dear god i never expected this thread to turn into an insurance conversation...

I blame irul

[wolfy]

time to put down the popcorn and find an Octoberfest- or maybe just some "fake news". Talking points-

og- "time for the town and FD to get serious..."- as of Sept. almost 2000 homeowner inspections were done by 4 inspectors (2 from FD and 2 Cal-fire) plus engine companys. Around 36% were non-compliant and required re-inspection. Lack of action set off a chain of letter>certified letter>notification of fine>fine. There has been at least one instance of the town contracting for mitigation of an especially hazardous property and attaching the cost to the owners tax bill. You can notify the FD if you feel there is a high hazard near your property. It happens every day.

TJ- several of those "protesting" the project- even in Sierra Meadows- are current or retired career fire and forestry employees. If you read the original USFS document and then walked the area on the ground, the two did not line up. The majority of the "anti-project" letters referenced the urban interface areas bordering the Ponderosa Palisades, Ranchos, and Lahontan subdivisions. The document is being modified and is still under review by the TNF. Not many letters about logging trucks.
You're right- the areas along the 06 road are a model of best forest practices- since the late 70's the area between the 2 FS gates has been: thinned by FS personnel x2, logged commercially x2, fuels modification by mastication x1, prescribed fire post thinning/logging x2. That is a healthy swatch of forest and hopefully won't be messed with further.

t-local- You're absolutely right- aggressive thinning followed by prescribed fire is the best "bang for the buck" in the urban interface toolbox. Tahoe Donner HOA and Incline Village have 2 of the best fuels modification programs in the west, long term. TD was using prescribed fire until the board- under fire from some homeowners, put a stop to it. Incline uses their own hand crews to thin and then burn plots surrounding the town, on a 7 year cycle to "re-treat". But, the education cycle to get homeowners to buy off on the plan took 7 years on it's own. Both have good programs with outstanding results.
There will always be the "smoke NIMBY's"- burns that go bad get all the press. Less than 3% of burns have an escape that causes damage to anything. You're odds are better for getting in a car accident enroute to the store.

You will be seeing smoke showing between Truckee and Sierraville over the next few weeks as we get some rain in the forecast.
Multiple prescribed burns are prepped and crews ready to go. Whenever neighbors ask about the fall smoke columns, I usually tell 'em "That's a forest getting healthy."
cheers...

[~mikey b]

Have you heard anything about Winter Sports Symposium?