CA senator: Wildfire preparedness at Tahoe gets low grade

By Adam Jensen
Sierra Sun
Jun 27, 2012

A volunteer helps to restore the Angora Burn Area during Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day 2007.

LAKE TAHOE — Wildfire safety has improved at Lake Tahoe in the five years since the Angora fire, but there is still work to be done, according to a report card released this week by California Sen. Ted Gaines.

Gaines, R-Rocklin, gave fire safety in the basin a “C-” following a media tour through the burn area Monday afternoon.

“I think we have made tremendous progress, but we still have a long way to go,” Gaines said at a public forum at South Tahoe High School following the tour.

The grade was the result of an analysis by the Senate Office of Research that found 60 of 90 recommendations by the bi-state Blue Ribbon Fire Commission formed following the Angora fire have been implemented. The fire destroyed 3,100 acres and 254 homes in June 2007.

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