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The recent Lake Tahoe fire that destroyed 178 homes has some residents blaming the agency that regulates tree removal throughout the Tahoe basin for the fire?EUR??,,????'?????<????????????EUR??,,??s severity.
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, created in 1969, aims to balance development with protection of Tahoe?EUR??,,????'?????<????????????EUR??,,??s natural beauty. The 15-member agency is made up of voters and politicians from California and Nevada. However many residents criticize its rules that govern construction and habitat preservation as too strict, most significantly the process to cut down trees. Residents also complain that the U.S. Forest Service has allowed about 165,000 acres of its land to become overgrown, further endangering adjacent homes.
?EUR??,,????'?????<????????[Our] house survived because we broke the law,?EUR??,,????'?????<???????? said Brent Abrams, 20. His family cut down trees near their house and replaced them with a grassy lawn, something they believe the authorities would have never allowed.
The planning officials say their policies are being misrepresented. According to officials, residents can cut down trees that potentially endanger their homes, although a permit is required for larger ones. Tree removal is allowed within a home?EUR??,,????'?????<????????????EUR??,,??s ?EUR??,,????'?????<????????defensible space,?EUR??,,????'?????<???????? however this varies based on a home?EUR??,,????'?????<????????????EUR??,,??s location and surrounding areas.
?EUR??,,????'?????<????????We have bent over backward to make sure people can protect their homes. Our rules do not prohibit anyone from removing vegetation from around their home,?EUR??,,????'?????<???????? said John Singlaub, the agency?EUR??,,????'?????<????????????EUR??,,??s executive director.
The Forest Service says it has been thinning 2,000 to 3,000 acres of timber each year and hopes to ramp up to 4,200 acres for the next two years.
?EUR??,,????'?????<????????We have to make up for 150 years of land-use mistakes around the lake,?EUR??,,????'?????<???????? said service spokesman Matt Mathes. Clear-cutting during the Gold Rush, a refusal after World War II to use fires to reduce underbrush, and lawsuits to block logging have all contributed to the heavy concentration of trees in Tahoe?EUR??,,????'?????<???????????a condition that contributes to devastation wrought by a blaze like the Angora Fire, Mathes said.
Singlaub says ultimately fire protection rests with the homeowner.
The local fire department provides a step-by-step guide to creating a defensible space including landscaping suggestions and how large a space a particular home warrants.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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