Lake Valley Fire Protection District serves the residents of El Dorado County in the Lake Tahoe Basin area. Our jurisdiction extends north to the El Dorado/Placer County line on Hwy 89 north, west to Twin Bridges on Hwy 50, south to the El Dorado/Alpine County line on Hwy 89 south, and east to the city limits of South Lake Tahoe.
Our Formation
The Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) is a special district formed in 1947 in the County of El Dorado, California. LVFPD is comprised of 86 square miles of mountainous terrain and provides emergency services for the majority of the unincorporated areas of Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore. The Lake Tahoe Basin is located approximately 200 miles northeast of San Francisco, California and 60 miles South West of Reno, Nevada, nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. In addition, LVFPD maintains a contract of annexation, of approximately 5 square miles, with our neighbors in Alpine County, just south of our district.
LVFPD serves a permanent community of approximately 12,000 residents and will see our community swell up to approximately 50,000 residents during our summer tourist season. Lake Tahoe’s south shore as a whole will host an average of three million visitors annually. Lake Valley Fire Protection District provides fire suppression, technical rescue, advanced life support (ALS) ambulance transport and ALS capable Type 1 engine (structure fire) services to our community. The Cal Tahoe ambulance service is functionally combined through a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) contract, between Lake Valley Fire Protection District and South Lake Tahoe Fire Department. LVFPD also specializes in the areas of Wildland-Urban Interface firefighting, frequent strike team deployment, back country rescues, vehicle extrications, and helicopter utilization for the multitude of vehicle and skiing accidents we have throughout the year.
Our department has a section within its district boundaries, one of the largest alpine lakes in Northern America (Lake Tahoe), with 72 miles of pristine shoreline. LVFPD also has within its jurisdiction, two major Ski resorts: Heavenly Valley Ski Resort and Sierra at Tahoe Ski Resort. LVFPD also routinely responds to mutual aid calls to Kirkwood Ski Resort in Alpine County.
LVFPD provides, through formal contract, automatic aid and mutual aid to South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) and Fallen Leaf Fire Department (FLFD). LVFPD also provides formal mutual aid to our neighboring fire departments, most commonly during fire season. They include: Meeks Bay Fire Protection District (MBFPD), North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District (NTFPD), North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District (NLTFPD), Truckee Fire Protection District (TFPD), Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District (TDFPD), El Dorado County Fire Department (EDCFD), United States Forest Service (USFS), Eastern Alpine Fire Rescue (EAFR), Kirkwood Fire Department (KFD).Lake Valley Fire Protection District Map of our Jurisdictional Boundaries
Our Governance
Since 1947, the State Fire Protection District Law has been rewritten several times. The District’s authority is granted by the California Health and Safety Code, Division 12, Part 2.7, and the Fire Protection District Law of 1987, also known as the Bergeson Fire District Law. The Department is governed by the Lake Valley Fire Protection District Board of Directors. As such, the Department is classified as a dependent district. The Fire Chief is appointed by the Board of Directors, and is responsible for the proper administration of all affairs of the department.
The Fire Chief routinely consults with local County Supervisors, District Board of Directors and community leaders, to assure local matters are addressed. The Department takes great pride in the ability to be responsive to local issues and priorities. Fire codes and regulations are typically established by the State of California and adopted at the local government level.