Police and Fire

It's summer in Tahoe now which means there are regular threats of forest fires.  There's also a lot more police work due to the much larger numbers of tourists and weekend visitors.

Modern police work and modern firefighting - the kinds that quickly dispatch qualified, well-trained first responders to dangerous situations - could not happen without fire engines, police cars, ambulances, occasionally helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft, and up to date wide area weather forecasts, not to mention drivable roads.  And every one of these things depends on the ready availability of affordable gasoline, diesel and airplane fuel.

As I write this in 2013, there's plenty of liquid fossil fuels available, mostly at below $4/gallon.  And even in these difficult economic times, our local governments are still able to pay for reasonable numbers of police and fire fighters, plus their training and health care, not to mention upkeep and replacements for all the necessary gear: police cars, emergency equipment, fire defense and suppression tools, an underground network of water pipes and hydrants.  Add to that periodic burns to clear out underbrush and we have a pretty good system of responding to fires, law enforcement emergencies and other first responder situations.

But as we look forward a decade, and perhaps sooner, a few warning signs become visible: We're running out of the easy to find, easy to extract oil that we depend upon for reliable affordable liquid fuels.  We're also starting to "run out" of the long term weather pattern we've grown used to at the Lake: cold winters with lots of snow that last well into summer in the higher elevations.  Instead we're starting to get the occasional bigger storm that is followed by sunny skies and warmer temperatures which melt some of the snow that just fell.  Spring snow melt occurs earlier too.  We're left with hotter, drier summers which can increase the dangers of wildfires.

Fortunately, right now conditions related to fighting fires, law enforcement and emergency response seem acceptable and affordable to the Tahoe region.  We'd be making a mistake if we planned on these conditions continuing for more than a decade or so.  Within that time, it's almost certain that the prices Americans pay for liquid fuels will increase substantially.  We'll also be facing a hotter, drier climate with increased risks of fires.  Whether Lake levels will stay where they are or decrease is too difficult to predict.

It's not too soon to start thinking about how we, as Tahoe dwellers, can plan on getting by with lower levels of police and fire fighter support.  Our lives may one day depend on it.