IT'S NO SECRET that California has plenty of potential for disaster. Earthquakes, water shortages, agricultural pests and mudslides are high on the list of the state's inherent dangers. But it is difficult to imagine a more devastating blow to the Golden State than having the Lake Tahoe area turn into a raging inferno.

We are happy to report that our Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, agree on that issue and that they are trying to do something about it.

The two are leading a long-overdue bipartisan effort to lessen the chance of such a circumstance. They are sponsoring legislation to create a 10-year U.S. Forest Service program that will thin out the crowded forests surrounding the lake.

It is entirely appropriate for two U.S. senators to be taking such an action because about 80 percent of the land in the Tahoe Basin is federal land.

Feinstein says that the legislation is designed to "cut through the red tape and remove hazardous fuels" that currently threaten the Tahoe Basin. We heartily endorse the notion of stopping the fires before they begin.

Ensign said that the plan would probably cost about $200 million. That sounds like a large sum of money, but actually it is a pittance compared to the price tag of one out-of-control forest fire in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

"We live up here in a big tinder box," Ensign said Sunday. "We are very lucky we haven't had the type of catastrophic fire that would really do damage to this lake."

The seven Tahoe-area fire protection districts each have completed a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Those plans identify 26,000 acres that are most at risk for wildfire. Now it is time to do something about it.

There is no question that this is a good investment. Lake Tahoe is a jewel, and it is such not just for California and Nevada, but for the nation.

The Lake Tahoe Basin is a tourist mecca, and it is truly one of the country's most beautiful places. We must do everything in our power to make sure that it does not go up in smoke.