Ever since the fire went out, the US Forest Service has been pushing an ambitious salvage logging plan for the area.

NPR: Study: Salvage Logging Boosts Forest-Fire Threat

Dreamt up by a US Forest Service employee in 1978, the Tahoe Rim trail is a relative new entry on the hiker's to-do list.

BBC: Lost in paradise

Meanwhile, the US Forest Service has been deriving cellulose nanocrystals from wood pulp extract to create a material that's stronger than Kevlar and carbon fiber.

ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week in Green: fluorescent bulb moon, fuel-efficient supersonic jet and a toxin-eating oyster park