Free Republic

Here I sit, looking down at lovely Lake Tahoe, but also looking down the hill at the fir forest growing ever thicker and more deadly. Fires always burn uphill. If a fire ever starts at the bottom of our hill, we'll have 10 minutes to escape before the one road out is cut off by the fire. Behind my home, it's nearly impossible to hike off trail because you have to wade through knee-deep piles of dead branches. The forest is ready to explode. We have too many trees, but no one dares do anything about it. Plenty of ingredients...

As Tahoe burned, John Singlaub felt the heat. Since the catastrophic fire ignited Sunday, Singlaub has fielded angry questions and endured verbal abuse from Lake Tahoe residents furious with his employer, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. The agency -- known as TRPA -- wields unusual power in the Tahoe basin. Created in 1969 to protect the Tahoe ecosystem, it has jurisdiction over the Nevada and California sides of the lake. It controls all planning decisions big and small -- from whether to allow a new high-rise resort in South Lake Tahoe to whether an individual homeowner can add a new...

Homewood Mountain Resort's ski area occupies the largest piece of developable property remaining in the Lake Tahoe basin. With elevations reaching 1,600 feet above the lake's famed blue waters, the views from its slopes are spectacular. The property includes two lakes and crosses three watersheds. And it's for sale. If owner Jeff Yurosek has his way, 1,086 acres will be sold to the U.S. Forest Service under a deal that will keep the struggling ski business open. The estimated $60 million to $65 million the property is likely to fetch will be used to build an expanded commercial center on...