Authorities Lift Fire Restrictions In Lake Tahoe Basin

Fire restrictions are being lifted Friday on National Forest Service lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin. 

Dry summer conditions brought severe fire restrictions on National Forest Service lands at Lake Tahoe.

Cheva Gabor with the U.S. Forest Service says cooler temperatures and recent rain have reduced the fire risk -- and therefore, campfire restrictions. 

"You can come to our front desk if you're going camping, you can ask for a campfire permit if you're going in most areas of the Basin," she says.

She says campfires are not allowed year-round in any wilderness areas of the forest.

Gabor says not everyone followed those backcountry rules this summer.

"We had quite a number of illegal campfires and in at least one case they've caused a wildfire that the Forest Service and other agencies have had to respond to," says Gabor.

Campfire permits are available at the Forest Service office in South Lake Tahoe.