Work has all but wrapped up in the Third Creek stream zone fuels reduction area. The project, which started in early June and was overseen by the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, removed undergrowth in the Third Creek stream zone which left Incline Village at risk for a wildfire.

Vegetation in the area was thinned in order to restore a healthy balance to the adjacent forest. Hand crews from the NLTFPD along worked with machinery designed to minimize impact on the sensitive stream zone. Officials with the district say work has been completed on the project and hand crews are now working to chip and remove vegetation which was already cut down.

The NLTFPD, along with representatives from Incline Village General Improvement District, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Nevada Division of Wildlife, Nevada Tahoe Conservation District and Nevada Fire Safe Council will host an educational walking tour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 26 of the recent fuels reduction and mitigation work done in the Third Creek area.

A barbecue lunch will be offered after tours on the back deck of the IVGID Recreation Center.

Join in to learn more about the project and its history, from permitting to implementation, and to ask questions of the various agency professionals that have been involved from the very beginning more than three years in the making.

Tia Rancourt, public information/education officer for the NLTFPD said the tours should help the public to understand the benefits of the work in the area.

“People should get a good thorough understanding of the work we’ve done by going on the walk-through,” Rancourt said. “We’re doing this because there has been a dramatic visual change in the stream zone after the work.”

Representatives in all the agencies involved will be stationed throughout the walk-through area to educate residents on specific aspects of the project, such as thinning vegetation while maintaining a healthy stream zone, Rancourt said.

Tours will start from the back deck of the IVGID Recreation Center and will finish at the back deck with a complimentary barbecue lunch.

For information or to RSVP, please contact Rancourt at (775) 833-8106.