Clearing the Way
How Mastication Machines Help Protect Tahoe from Wildfire
Lake Tahoe, Calif./Nev., June 23, 2025 – Forest fuel reduction projects happening throughout the Tahoe Basin this year are using a tool known as mastication around communities to connect fuel treatment projects and bolster defensible space within the wildland urban interface. The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) is highlighting several of these projects to educate residents and visitors about work they might be seeing in and around Lake Tahoe communities this year, and the crucial role mastication plays in helping firefighters protect people and the lake. The TFFT is a multi-agency partnership committed to reducing wildfire risk and improving forest health across the Tahoe Basin.
As wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense, TFFT partners are using every tool available to reduce risk and protect communities. Mastication is one such tool, and it plays a key role in making forests more resilient. Mastication is a mechanical treatment that helps reduce wildfire intensity by grinding up small trees, brush, and woody debris into mulch. Specialized equipment, known as masticators, move through the forest and chip excess vegetation into chips that are spread around the treatment area as the equipment moves. Some masticators look like a compact tractor, while others are separate machines that attach to the arm of an excavator. Masticators clear out ladder fuels – those small trees and brush that allow fire to climb into the forest canopy – and help create defensible space around neighborhoods, roads, and critical infrastructure.