Mount Charleston gets to keep fire station

Mount Charleston residents will keep their old, familiar state-run fire station for at least another four years.

State officials agreed Tuesday to let the Division of Forestry continue to provide emergency rescue services on Mount Charleston, as well as in Elko and Eureka counties until 2015.

The counties reimburse the state for personnel and other overhead. Gov. Brian Sandoval had proposed making the counties responsible for handling emergency services with their own crews and equipment.

Clark County officials worried that the move would cause their overhead to skyrocket. Residents feared that they might be left with no rescue teams on the mountain.

The county agreed to help pay for state support staff who oversee rural operations. That will add about $220,000 to the county's yearly $900,000 costs.

"It's great news," Commissioner Larry Brown said of the agreement. "It solves the immediate concern of fire safety. Mount Charleston is certainly one of the most vulnerable areas in Southern Nevada."

The mountain is home to about 360 people and draws an estimated 2 million visitors a year.

A state crew has been stationed there for several decades, offering a quick response to everything from wild-land fires and injured hikers to car wrecks and household blazes.

County leaders estimated that running their own station would cost at least
$2 million yearly, more than double what they pay now to the state.

A minimum of four county firefighters are on a shift, versus two in a forestry station. And to meet current codes, the county would have to build a new station at a cost of several million dollars.

A supervisor at the forestry station was guarded about the pact, describing it as a reprieve.

"Who knows what's going to happen in four years," said Jorge Gonzales, fire management officer. "We're going to have the same issues unless the economy comes back. Governments can change. Governors can change."

Residents are sure to be happy that the state's current operation will continue, Gonzalez said. It would take a rescue crew traveling from the valley a half an hour to arrive "on a good day," he added.

Assistant County Manager Ed Finger said the state will keep paying overtime costs at the station. Last year, they were about $130,000.

The deal buys the county time to work out a long-range plan with state officials who are bent on phasing out, Finger said.

"This is a stopgap," Finger said. "They're not interested in being in this business in the long term."

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.