Funding awarded to reduce wildfire risk and increase vegetation management in North Lake Tahoe

Published Sept. 12, 2024

In an effort to reduce wildfire risk in North Lake Tahoe, the Placer County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $145,491 contract award to Bella Wildfire & Forestry Inc. to fund vegetation management and fuel load reduction work on 18 acres in Tahoe Vista.

The funding comes from a $658,457 grant awarded to Placer County from the California Tahoe Conservancy last year. That grant was issued in May 2023 to reduce fuel loads on approximately 78 total acres of county property in the Lake Tahoe Basin through multiple contractors over a three-year period.

Starting in 2021, the county solicited tree trimming and removal services, roadside vegetation management and fuel load reduction. Bella Wildfire & Forestry Inc. of Weimar was one of seven companies qualified by the county's procurement process. The contract approved this week involves removal of underlying layers of vegetation, reducing ladder fuels and removing specific trees that are overgrown, dead or dying.

"Just as homeowners are required to take care of their properties by complying with the state's defensible space regulations, the county is also doing the right thing and this award is part of that effort," said Director of Agriculture, Parks and Natural Resources Josh Huntsinger. "By treating our properties, we're doing our part to keep our communities safe from wildfires."

These 18 acres in Tahoe Vista were earlier identified as part of a countywide effort by Parks, Trails and Open Space to complete vegetation management on and enhance defensible space and forest health efforts. This work is part of a larger effort to reduce fuel loads on more than 100 parcels of county-owned land.

To learn more about the California Tahoe Conservancy grant issued last year,click here.

To learn more about the county's wildfire response and Firewise Communities USA program,click here.