Officials warn people of fire danger

With warm winds whipping Southern Nevada's wildfire season to an above-average start, those who will fight the blazes urged public lands visitors Wednesday to keep their cigarettes in ashtrays and don't set campfires in restricted areas.

"We want the public to enjoy the lands, but we want them to be careful with smoking," said John Foley, the Bureau of Land Management's local fire operations supervisor.

About half of the wildfires in Southern Nevada are human caused with most of the remainder stemming from lightning strikes.

Already this year, there have been 20 fires on public lands including 15 on acres managed by the BLM. The biggest, Foley said, was a 40-acre blaze near Mesquite that probably was human caused.

Firefighters from federal, state and local agencies gathered at the Red Rock Canyon fire station Wednesday to announce Southern Nevada fire restrictions and warn Memorial Day weekend travelers, especially those heading to Red Rock Canyon, the Spring Mountains, Mount Charleston, the Sheep Range and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, that no fireworks of any kind are allowed on public lands.

The fire restrictions allow open campfires in developed recreation sites and picnic areas where a host is present or a fee is charged.

Even so-called safe-and-sane fireworks are prohibited, said U.S. Forest Service Fire Prevention Officer Ray Johnson.

"We are going into fire restrictions with no wood or charcoal fires in the Spring Mountains except in campgrounds and picnic areas," he said.

Those caught violating the restrictions could face fines and jail time in addition to costs for fire suppression, resource damage and injuries.

Wildfire experts expect more than last year's relatively light season of 108 wildland fires that charred 374 acres of Southern Nevada public land.

Making matters worse is the ongoing invasion of nonnative weeds, particularly cheatgrass and red brome, that return every year, even in burned areas where they pose a threat as a quick-spreading, flash fuel that can threaten stands of native Mojave Desert plants and trees, and pine forests at higher elevations.

Rainfall has been above-average, which translates to an above-average fire threat because of the corresponding growth of plants and weeds.

Higher-than-normal rainfall in 2004 triggered near-record totals for wildland fires in 2005. Nevada forestry officials estimated 1.1 million acres burned in 2005, compared with 41,000 acres the previous year.

Nearly three-quarters of the charred land during 2005 was in Clark and Lincoln counties in Southern Nevada.

The state's record fire season came in 1999, when about 1.8 million acres of Nevada range burned.

The wildfire forecast generally depends on how many lightning strikes will spark blazes. In any season there are hundreds of lightning strikes but not all cause fires, Johnson said.

Jorge Gonzalez, Nevada Division of Forestry Battalion chief at Mount Charleston, said a fuel reduction project aimed at reducing the threat by thinning trees and bushes in certain areas will help give firefighters an edge.