Angora -- Bringing people up-to-date

unedited Jan. Tahoe Mountain News article

but first the correction that ran in the feb. issue:
Correction: No meth labs after all

Information supplied to the Tahoe Mountain News by El Dorado County Supervisor Norma Santiago that was printed in the January issue was wrong. According to sheriff’s Lt. Les Lovell, no meth or other illegal drub labs were found in the Angora burn area.
Lovell said he inspected the two areas in question while debris was being removed. Even though a hydraulic press, chemical containers and other items that might point to a meth lab were found, he said there was “a reasonable explanation” for it being there.
Lovell is experienced in sniffing out such illegal drug activity from his days with the DEA.



By Kathryn Reed

Every day the landscape in the Angora burn area seems to change – and it’s not just the fresh lumber being transformed into new homes or the carpet of snow.
While some rebuild, others are less sure about what to do on a permanent basis. State building codes that took effect this month will add to the cost of most construction. Insufficient water pressure may necessitate sprinklers – another hefty expense.
Months ago El Dorado County Supervisor Norma Santiago promised a one-stop location for all things related to Angora building concerns. But her cohorts who all hail from the West Slope are wary of establishing a separate permitting center, what it may cost and the potential backlash from union workers.
The Board of Supervisors was expected to revisit the issue Jan. 8, but press deadlines prohibited coverage of the meeting. Jan. 24 marks seven months since the devastating blaze erupted and still people are in a state of confusion.
Rebuilding headaches
About three dozen people attended a meeting at Lake Tahoe Community College last month put on by the El Dorado Builders’ Exchange and Santiago.
Bob Green, with El Dorado County development services, said as of Dec. 17, 74 building permits had been issued in the Angora Fire area. About 12 of those were for homes not totally destroyed in the June 24 inferno.
He explained allocation certificates, which allow someone to rebuild, are only good for18 months – or until Dec. 23, 2008.
After that, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency policy dictates the paperwork reverts to a development right. A document exists for about $220 where a property owner can “bank the unit of use” until they are ready to build so they don’t have to go through the process from scratch.
The point is Angora survivors don’t get to build after Dec. 24 without doing some legwork first.
Green reminded folks that once an application (which includes a TRPA site plan, floor plan and elevation plan) is on file with his office, it is good for one year. Building permits are valid for three years.
Theresa Avance, senior planner with TRPA, urged people to think beyond the basics when it comes to putting in best management practices and to tap her agency’s brainpower as well as the employees’ at Tahoe Resource Conservation District.
Although many think the area is now immune to a wildfire, those in the know said just the opposite is true. For the next 50 years brush will be the predominant vegetation – towering pines will take decades to re-establish themselves. And low growing plants can be fuel for a fire and tends to burn hot.
“One of the big issues is invasive weeds,” said Susie Kocher, natural resources advisor with UC Extension. She said the county treated the area before the snow fell. “We could have new infestations. With equipment brought in to fight the fire, they could have seeds on them.”
Homeowners were also reminded to be cognizant of defensible space. A spokeswoman from the Nevada Fire Safe Council, which operates in California, said she expects the issue of pine needles to be resolved this spring. (TRPA uses them for erosion and fire marshals see them as flammable.)
Hydrants and sprinklers
The most venom hurled at panelists during the December meeting came during the sprinkler discussion. Audience members belittled the antiquated water system, asked Lake Valley Fire to suspend its rules and lambasted those favoring sprinklers.
South Tahoe Public Utility District recognizes it doesn’t have the capacity at each hydrant to fight fires according to Lake Valley’s requirements. Partly this is because the systems it acquired were never designed for firefighting capabilities. The district is working on upgrading lines throughout the area.
Lake Valley’s sprinkler ordinance has been on the books since 2000. All homes more than 5,000-square-feet require sprinklers. Then it comes down to water flow from hydrants to determine if sprinklers are needed. What it has required since the turn of the century is essentially part of the state fire code as of Jan. 1 so there is no going back at the local level even if the department’s board of directors so desired.
South Tahoe PUD will put hydrants every 250 feet in the burn area, but can’t promise it will provide 1,000 gallons of water per minute for two hours – what’s required for fire suppression for a house up to 2,700-square-feet.
“We want our community to be as safe as possible. There isn’t enough water in hydrants to combat a fire. We want our constituents to live in an environment that is as safe as it can be,” said Gareth Harris, Lake Valley fire marshal and battalion chief, after the meeting. “Statistically, 4,000 people die in residential structure fires in the United States every year. With fully functioning sprinkler systems and smoke alarms, your chances of surviving improve up to 90 percent. There has never been a documented fatality in a residential fire with a fully functioning sprinkler system and smoke alarms.”
To prevent water in sprinklers from freezing the systems are injected with food grade glycerin.
“There are types of anti-freezes that are dangerous. We don’t allow them to be used,” Harris said.
Federal dollars for STPUD
Portions of the $555 billion spending bill signed by President George W. Bush on Dec. 26 while he flew to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, will trickle to South Tahoe PUD this year.
The district will receive $1 million that will go toward water lines to increase firefighting capabilities. As with most federal dollars, the district must match the funding with $1 million from its budget.
The combined $2 million is enough to install about 7,000 feel of water lines. Included will be hydrants about every 500 feet. It will probably take two years to complete this round of work.
The U.S. Forest Service through the Tahoe Restoration Act secured the money for South Tahoe PUD.
Dennis Cocking, spokesman for STPUD, said the agency plans to pursue other federal funds this year to lineup dollars for continued water line replacement. A possible avenue is the Army Corps of Engineers.
Which areas get the upgraded water lines depends on the age of the current line, the condition of it, its size and proximity to the wildland urban interface.