Sheriff and North Lake Tahoe Fire brief CAB on wildfire response, water capacity and evacuation planning

Sheriff Sgt. Jeff McCaskill and North Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Ryan Summers told the Incline Village–Crystal Bay Citizen Advisory Board on Wednesday that local public‑safety agencies have sent personnel and apparatus to support large wildfires in Southern California and are monitoring water and evacuation capacity at home.

Chief Ryan Summers said the basin sent engines and overhead personnel to help in Los Angeles and that those personnel had returned as of the meeting. “We sent 17 engines out of the basin down there and quite a few overhead folks. Everybody has since returned as of yesterday,” Summers said.

Summers addressed persistent resident questions about water supplies during catastrophic fires, saying the local system has large storage tanks and operational pumps but is not designed for continuous exterior sprinkler systems on individual houses. “Are we gonna run out of water? I’m crazy if I’m gonna tell you that no we are not. Absolutely, do we have the potential to run out of water? There’s only so much water for this community,” Summers said. He…