BLM proposes more fire stations in Northern Nevada

CARSON CITY — Two new fire stations are being proposed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to improve response times across the sprawling, wildfire-prone Winnemucca District in Northern Nevada.

The BLM on Friday sent out notices seeking public comment on proposals to build fire stations in Orovada and Rye Patch to augment an existing station in McDermitt and possibly replace one in Lovelock.

“The concept is, where can we have stations and equipment and firefighters pre-staged during fire season in order to react and respond faster in order to catch these fires before they grow into something crazy,” said Mike Turney, BLM spokesman in Winnemucca.

McDermitt is on the northern edge of the district along the Oregon line, a good hour or more away from Winnemucca with a whole lot of territory in between.

Orovada is about halfway between the two towns.

The Winnemucca District encompasses 11 million acres or more than 17,000 square miles, the bulk of which is managed by the federal agency.