Requests skyrocket for evaluations

94 requests filed with fire district

At this time last year there was no Angora fire, no bi-state blue ribbon fire commission and nowhere near the amount of requests for defensible space evaluations at the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District.

Through mid-May in 2007, NLTFPD Forester Jeff Cutler said 40 requests for defensible space evaluations were filed. So far this year 94 requests — more than double— have been filed with the district.

“I think about half of the requests you can say are because of Angora, and the other half is there has been a lot of press talking about defensible space,” Cutler said.
The evaluations are leading to more business locally, as Beth Moxley of Rockwood Tree Service attests. Her business does defensible space clearing in addition to their work removing trees and chipping.

“We’re out seven days a week doing defensible space evaluations, my business is up about 20 percent over this time last year,” Moxley said.

Greg McKay, assistant chief at the NLTFPD agreed with Cutler that part of the reason for the increased demand in evaluations is caused by local media.

“Defensible space has been in the news so much that people are thinking, what’s the harm in having us out to look at their property? It’s heightened awareness of the issue,” McKay said.

Cutler also pointed to two changes that stemmed from the bi-state fire commission, which NLTFPD Chief Mike Brown sits on.

“First, the fire district now recommends people rake out any pine needles within thirty feet of their property,” Cutler said. “Next, the size of trees which can be taken out without a permit has grown to 14 inches, so people are getting evaluations to make sure they’re in compliance.”

Moxley said the amount of defensible space evaluations has not only driven up her business but changed Rockwood’s priorities.

“We’re actually doing a lot more in terms of defensible space clearing than we are doing our traditional tree removal,” Moxley said.

She also pointed to a $1 million stipend released by the Nevada Fire Safe Council that will go to fund defensible space for private residents.

The stipend funds 50 percent of a resident’s defensible space cost up to $1,000.
“A lot of homeowners were able to get their defensible space with the help of that money,” Moxley. “But people need to know the money is available to everyone in the basin and not just people in Nevada.”

McKay said NLTFPD engine crews are being trained to handle all of the evaluations, so crews can go out in their free time to get evaluations done and the amount of requests don’t back up too much.

Hand Crew changes name
The North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District is operating three hand crews this season, one in conjunction with the North Tahoe Fire Protection District. To avoid confusion which stems from radio communications, all of the crews will no longer be named the Slide Mountain Hand Crew. Instead, one crew will retain the traditional Slide Mountain name, while the second will take on the name Rifle Peak Hand Crew, and the third will be named the Incline hand Crew.

Currently, both the Slide Mountain and Rifle Peak crews are fully staffed with 20 firefighters and ready to respond to fires. The Incline Hand Crew has about 13 members on hand and should be full by early June, said Greg McKay, NLTFPD assistant fire chief.