The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office is releasing additional information regarding the ongoing investigation into the intentional poisoning of trees at Burnt Cedar Beach.
Investigators have documented 28 affected trees across three incidents in the same area and believe the cases are connected. Six trees were damaged in 2022, another six in 2024, and 16 more were discovered this year, resulting in an estimated $300,000 loss. The affected trees are currently being identified as pine trees.
Deputies say the substance used to poison the trees has not yet been identified. Soil samples have been collected and submitted for testing to help determine what substance was used and whether the same substance was involved in each incident. Investigators have also confirmed that holes were not drilled near the roots in every case.
Based on the estimated amount of damage, deputies say the person or persons responsible could face felony-level charges.
“We take these crimes very seriously and will utilize every available resource to identify and apprehend the person or persons responsible,” said Sheriff Darin Balaam. “The destruction of mature trees in the Tahoe Basin and the environmental damage caused by these deliberate acts are unacceptable. We ask anyone with information, regardless of how insignificant it may seem, to contact the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and provide that information to investigators.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office at (775) 328-3001 and reference case number 26-4225.
Secret Witness has added a $1,000 reward for information. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Secret Witness by calling (775) 322-4900 or visiting www.secretwitness.com.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Many visitors say the tree canopy at Burnt Cedar Beach in Incline Village is a big part of its beauty.
But the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office is looking for someone who disagrees.
Deputies are investigating after multiple rounds of poisoning have affected 16 trees at Burnt Cedar.
There are still a lot of unknowns in the investigation.
"I just can't figure out why someone would hurt something so beautiful,” says Lisa Borderlon, who’s visiting from Dallas, Texas.
Deputies say they don't know either. They first responded on July 24 to a strange odor near the bottom of a pine tree. The Sheriff’s Office returned to the beach on Sunday and found more poisoned trees.
Investigators believe the latest round of poisoning happened between 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 1, and 5 a.m. Sunday, August 2.
"I’ve been coming here since I was a little girl. We'd spend six weeks up here,” says Lisa Christopherson from Sacramento.
A longtime north shore visitor, Christopherson says she's appalled, and has never heard of anything like this happening at the lake.
“That's just too bad that somebody would come up here and destroy the beautiful trees,” she says. “It's just a senseless thing to do."
This is not the first tree poisoning at Burnt Cedar Beach either.
In both 2022 and 2024, six trees fell victim to poisoning. All of those trees are dead.
"Those investigations, the previous two that occurred, have pretty much turned up unfounded,” says Captain Joseph Colacurio, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Incline Patrol.
While soil samples from this year are consistent with these prior incidents, deputies say they haven't found any evidence linking the investigations.
A trail cam did see the suspect around 2 a.m. Sunday, but not for long enough to get a description.
WCSO's crime lab is trying to figure out what the substance is, and that process could take months.
The Incline Village General Improvement District takes care of the trees. For now, their goal is to limit the damage by getting the poison away from the trees. One of the ways they’re doing that is digging out the soil at the bases of them.
"We'll be consulting with experts, arborists, to see if there's, you know, additional nutrients, anything else we can put in there that might help mitigate some of the damage done,” says Paul Raymore, IVGID’s Marketing and Communications Manager.
Colacurcio says there would be about $300,000 in damages if all the trees were to die. That would make the poisoning a Class E Felony, punishable by one to four years in prison.
If you have any information that could help investigators, you're urged to call the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office at (775) 328-3001.
You can also call Secret Witness to be anonymous at (775) 322-4900.
