State fire officials predict active wildfire season

RENO -- Nevada dodged a fire assault last year, but after three years of drought, officials are bracing for what they say could be a severe summer of smoke and flames.

"We probably won't be that lucky again," said Mike Dondero, state fire management officer.

Dondero and other federal and local fire experts briefed Gov. Jim Gibbons on the coming fire season and the status of available resources.

In 2008, 452 fires in Nevada burned about 72,000 acres. Dondero attributed the low numbers to a lack of lightning, a common cause of wildfires.

"The lightning just didn't line up," he said.