Will Lake Tahoe no longer be blue due to Caldor Fire ash?
Jesse Patterson, of Keep Tahoe Blue, said the organization is funding research into the effects of the Caldor Fire on Lake Tahoe. “It’s going to look very different. Huge areas are burnt down, a burn scar — there can be runoff now from those areas that use to be protected by the trees. Now, those trees are gone and that runoff can come from the land and affect the lakes,” Patterson said. Dr. Geoffrey Schladow, professor of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis, said ash is a problem too. When ash bleeds into the lake, it turns into nutrients that cause algae blooms.
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