On the shores of Lake Tahoe at Emerald Bay State Park grows what some consider to be the most iconic old-growth forest in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Giant ponderosa pines — some of the last remaining in the area — share space with at least 13 other tree species. Yet despite its high conservation value and proximity to severely burned forests, the Emerald Point stand has not been managed to reduce its risk to drought or catastrophic wildfire. The fire-adapted forest has also not experienced fire for at least 120 years. This has led to massive increases in forest density, fuels, and insect- and drought-driven mortality. A fire modeling study conducted by the University of California, Davis, and the University of Nevada, Reno, found that forest thinning followed by a prescribed burn could greatly improve the stand’s resistance to catastrophic fire.