Pine needles could become a fire hazard
Fall is here and so is the large accumulation of leaves and pine needles. It’s best to clear your roof and gutters now before the snow renders them inaccessible.
Heat tape under a buildup of leaves or needles can start a roof fire.
South Tahoe Refuse will pick up all bagged leaves and pine needles left at the curbside on nor-mal trash pick up days.
— Sallie Ross-Filgo, SLTFD
My neighbor has over 6 inches of needles on his property. He hasn’t raked in over a decade except for his driveway which he then piles on the yard. It is truely a fire hazard. The fire department told me there is nothing they can do unless the property is a triplex. Seems there should be something which could be done. Anyone have an idea???
But wait! TRPA says that pine needles are an approved ground cover for BMP’s!!! Ask the Angora folks how well THAT worked!
Hi Dee,
Tahoe Fire Chiefs and environmental agencies are in complete agreement that over areas of bare soil, pine needles should be raked once in the Spring and allowed to fall through the fall.
Also property owners should limit broad areas of bare soil where pine needles or other burnable mulch need to be used for erosion control. You can break these areas up into smaller islands between areas of healthy, green vegetation so that they cannot transmit fire to structures.
As always, there should be a five-foot non-combustible area around all structures. No pine needles or other burnable materials can be in this area. Either lush green vegetation of nonburnable groundcover such as gravel should line this area.
http://www.tahoefiresafe.com is a great place to find out about BMPs, defensible space and the rebate program being offered by the Nevada Fire Safe Council to Tahoe property owners.
It’s great that the SLT Fire Department sent this reminder out. Clear information about issues like pine needles and tree removal needs to be on the tip of every property owner’s tongue so that our communities can be safer from wildfire threats.
As a reminder, a tree 14″ diameter or smaller can be removed for defensible space without a permit if it is not in a sensitive area like a stream zone or the shorezone. Trees larger than 14″ can be removed by permit from your local fire district.
Dee, you and other Lake Tahoe News readers can help by spreading correct information about these guidelines to your friends, neighbors and second homeowners.
While the comment from trpa_liaison correctly states the information provided by their agency about use of pine needles for erosion control, as someone who had a home in the Angora Fire area, I can tell you that had I not utilized BMP pine needle erosion control on my property, I would have sustained far less damage to the trees on my property. Many large trees were burned to the degree that they could not be saved, despite having removed ladder limbs, because of the proximity of the pine needles to the trunks. We also had some significant structural damage (though didn’t lose our house) due to blowing, ignited pine needles. I wouldn’t use pine needles again for erosion control.
Does anyone find it curious that the same day this article ran, a fire at the block hotel was caused by heat tape on top on needles?