By admin 
Residents of Incline Village, Nevada, a town along Lake Tahoe’s north shore, have been horrified and mystified by a series of poisonings of towering pine trees that line Burnt Cedar Beach — a community park with a sandy beach that has long been integral to the community’s character.
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Now, some of those residents have proven willing to put up a considerable amount of money to stop it. The $147,000 reward, a significant sum for information in a crime that does not involve any violence against humans, comes in part from the Incline Village General Improvement District, a town agency which is putting up $25,000. It comes in much larger part from a group of local citizens, organized as the group Friends of Burnt Cedar Beach, who put up $122,000.
In 2022, 2023, 2024 and now three times this summer — in May, July and on Aug. 2 — someone infiltrated the beach, presumably at night because no witnesses have come forward, drilled holes into tree bases and poured a poisonous substance around them. Authorities have not identified the substance, but some of the poison sites give off a striking odor of diesel fuel.
A separate substance was found inside the holes drilled into the tree trunks.
Town staff have raced to try and save the trees, but local law enforcement has so far been unable to identify the culprits. Video cameras in the park do not appear to have captured footage of the arboreal serial killer, or killers. Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam has described the case as a priority. He has previously suggested the monetary damage to the park from the poisonings would warrant felony charges if an arrest is made.
Not accessible to the public
Officials plan to announce more information about the award, and describe the agency’s response to the poisonings, at a Friday news conference.
Burnt Cedar Beach is not accessible to the public. Homeowners in the community receive passes to the beach, and most owners make those available to any renters they have. The park is fenced, the entrance has a guard in the gatehouse and the beach closes at sunset. The park remains a community fixture, however, where people host children’s birthday parties, take lake dips and picnic, all under the shade of the ancient trees.
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Town officials estimate some of the poisoned trees to be more than 100 years old.
Among townspeople interviewed by The Bee in August, suspicions over the poisonings centered on the idea that a homeowner, and probably a wealthy one, was trying to improve their vista at the expense of both the trees and beach goers. Law enforcement officials, however, have not publicly indicated any theory of the case.
Efforts to save the trees
Town workers have sought to save the trees by flooding their bases with water in an attempt to dilute the chemicals. They’ve also removed soil that was soaked with the liquid, seeking to clear it from the tree roots.
Officials found 16 trees found poisoned in July and August. Four stood by the parking lot. Five lined the beach’s sandy edge. Others clustered by a playground. The poisoner even hit two trees that pleasingly flank steps from the park lawn down to the sand.
Past poisonings have proven effective. Six trees were poisoned in 2022, and another six in 2023. The same six trees from 2023 were poisoned again the following year, town officials told The Bee. All but two of the poisoned trees in those years ultimately succumbed and were removed.
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