Disaster decree sought for Tahoe fire remedy

Asking for the emergency status from the president and the governors of California and Nevada was among dozens of recommendations approved by the panel. The California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission wants the state and federal governments to free up money quickly, mainly to cut thick stands of trees.

The commission gave unanimous approval to a report containing more than 70 recommendations, many intended to settle bureaucratic infighting among overlapping agencies that has hindered fire-prevention efforts for years.

The report also recommended higher taxes on property owners, requiring homeowners to replace wood shingles and upgrading the Tahoe basin’s water systems, a process that could cost more than $100 million over 20 years.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons set up the panel after the Angora Fire in June destroyed 254 homes and caused $140 million in property damage in South Lake Tahoe. That fire also exposed deep rivalries among the local, state, federal and regional agencies charged with protecting Tahoe’s environment or promoting fire protection.

The commission’s report focused on two agencies at the core of the criticism: the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and California’s Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. Both have made fire protection secondary to environmental protection, particularly to maintaining the lake’s clarity.

They now must recognize that in just a matter of days a wildfire can undo years of environmental progress, sending black ash and barren soil streaming into the lake, the commission said.