RENO, Neb. (KOLO) – Fire and community resource agencies in the Tahoe-Truckee region are taking steps to improve wildfire prevention. “Forest health must be our number one goal. Because if we lose the forest, we lose everything else, said Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. “People aren’t recreating, they’re not visiting, the lake won’t turn blue and people could lose their lives.” The Tahoe Fund, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, Tahoe Fire and Fuel Team, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation and Martis Fund are announcing new BurnBot technology that will increase the pace and scale of forest restoration.
“It’s not doom and gloom. This is one where we have agency and can do something about it. 90% of all fires are caused by humans, and what this should tell us is that you should be able to prevent these fires,” said Anukool Lakhina, CEO of Burnbot. “We will typically see between 2 to 5 acres per day, which is very common with steep slopes and dense vegetation.”
The machine allows land managers and landowners to reduce hazardous forest fuels using remote control. “When you have steep slopes or vin corridors, the fire passes through there very quickly. Therefore, one way to strengthen our community is to strengthen our critical infrastructure,” Lakhina added. “Fortifying our sensitive habitat is removing this dead vegetation and doing it early, prophylactically, before a destructive fire arrives.”
“They will burn 10 to 12 gallons of fuel a day. We can go out into the woods without having to bring a lot of fuel supplies, Ryan Gibson, Burnbot Northern California regional manager. “We can cut out more of the housing and get into green belts.”
Chief Ryan Sommers of the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District says this new strategy will also improve fire crews’ ability to put out fires. “Coming to a wildfire in an untreated area, there is a high probability that we will not be able to suppress that fire in a timely manner. Compared to responding to an area that has been treated for fuel work. We can suppress this fire in a minimal area in a very short period of time.”
More details about Burnbot.
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