Emerald Fire proves effectiveness of forest thinning
Flames from the Emerald Fire are visible on Oct. 14. Photo/Taylor Flynn/Tahoe Mountain News
By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal
It doesn’t take a wildland fire professional to see how fuel reduction can protect forests and communities.
It just takes a field trip to the site of the Emerald Fire on the South Shore.
Despite burning at the same time and under similar conditions to the disastrous Little Valley Fire, the Emerald Fire was much less destructive.
The Little Valley fire destroyed 23 homes and charred 2,300 acres while doing tens of millions of dollars in damage in western Washoe County. The Emerald Fire was limited to a burn area of 176 acres and was contained within three days.
Although no two fires are the same, a recent walk-through of the Emerald Fire shows how fuel reduction projects by the U.S. Forest Service and others helped minimize damage from the fire and slowed its rate of spread.