Wary look ahead to wildfire season
Federal experts said Wednesday they expect a normal to above-normal season for wildfires in Southern Nevada, with hot, dry conditions making forested terrain of Mount Charleston and the Spring Mountains the most vulnerable.
"We're concerned because it's going to be hot and dry and lightning will be the wild card," said Tom Harbour, director of fire and aviation management for the U.S. Forest Service.
He said the service has been working to improve the health of the trees in the Spring Mountains. Some forested areas have been thinned out in recent years.
"We're really trying to work to restore the system where they can tolerate the fire," he said.
Rex McKnight, Nevada fire management officer for the Bureau of Land Management, said invasive weeds such as red brome "did grow a little bit" in lower elevations, making some areas more prone than others to fires flashing up from lightning strikes.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said more than $11 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be spent in Nevada to reduce hazardous fuels, stabilize waterways and restore burned areas.
McKnight said the normal to above-normal potential for wild-land fires in Southern Nevada is supported by 10 years of data.
"Based on that, we usually get around 150 fires in a year" that burn about 3,000 acres of public land, he said.
McKnight does not expect a near-record year for wildfires like in 2005. During that season, from spring through early fall, hundreds of thousands of acres burned in Southern Nevada.
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 were charred by wildfires.
Much of the funding that Reid announced Wednesday will be spent on eradicating invasive weeds, such as cheatgrass, in Northern Nevada. More than $2.24 million will be spent on that effort alone in Washoe and Lyon counties.
Some $3.9 million will be spent on projects that benefit both Nevada and California.
Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
