Fire at Clark County Wetlands Park contained after burning 45 acres

A blaze Wednesday night at Clark County Wetlands Park had burned about 45 acres before it was contained, firefighters said Thursday.

The fire was reported at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at the park near Tropicana Avenue and Boulder Highway.

No buildings were damaged, and no injuries were reported, the Clark County Fire Department said, adding that control of the operation had been transferred to the Bureau of Land Management.

Liz Bickmore, the park’s program administrator, said winds Wednesday night helped keep the fire away from the park’s neighboring houses. There probably would have been much more structural damage if the fire had started during last weekend’s wind storm, she said.

Bickmore said the park usually gets a few fires a year, and this was the first of 2021. This fire burned in the park’s nature preserve, charring nearly a quarter of the preserve’s 210 acres.

“Fire is bad for habitats and wildlife, but then you do get some natural regeneration, so we take advantage of these opportunities because it does clear out some of the fuel to go in and plant,” Bickmore said. “So it’s devastating for the habitats, but it does provide opportunities for us to improve the landscape so that we have fuels out there that they won’t quite carry the fire like this again.”

In recent years, the park has seen several brush fires. Here’s a partial list:

2020: Small fires burned at the park in August and in April.

2019: A fire burned a few acres next to the park’s Duck Creek Trail system in March.

2018: In February, a 14-acre fire lasted less than a day. Another brush fire erupted in May.

2017: A brush fire burned 12 acres in November. In March, a small fire burned at the park.

2015: A fire destroyed a 20-foot bridge at the park.

2014: In March, a fire forced visitors to evacuate.

2011: In April, a large fire was sparked by homeless people living in the park. In July, a brush fire burned about 84 acres.

2009: A 5-acre fire burned in July.

Clark County Wetlands Park, at 2,900 acres, is a large urban wetlands area. It’s home to more than 200 species of birds and 70 species of mammals and reptiles. It features more than 13 miles of trails and is a popular destination for hikers and bird watchers.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Alexis Ford contributed to this report.