VICTOR JOECKS: Fires likely set by homeless scorch Las Vegas

There isn’t an abundance of vegetation in the Las Vegas Valley. That hasn’t stopped local fires — most likely started by homeless individuals — from burning around 150 acres.

In recent months, you may have noticed smoke rising from Clark County Wetlands Park on the east side of town. A June 24 fire burned 110 acres. It wasn’t the first one this year. Far from it. A second June fire burned a few acres. There was a small fire in April. In March, a fire burned 34 acres. That’s not the only park that has been ablaze in 2025. In May, a small fire started in Sunset Park, south of the pond.

These fires aren’t starting naturally. Investigators suspect they started as the result of human activity, but weren’t intentional.

“The area of (Sunset) park that was affected by the fire event is known to be inhabited by homeless people,” the Clark County Fire Department’s report said. “During the scene examination, investigators observed camps throughout the vegetation. Around these camps there was evidence of previous fires.”

In her update to the media on the large June fire at the Wetlands Park, Stacey Welling, public information officer with Clark County, noted, “Generally, fires in an area like this that aren’t caused by lightning are typically human caused.” She then reminded the public “that no open flames” are permitted at any Clark County parks.

But it’s not the public at large who needs this message. It’s the homeless who live in public parks and build campfires. In the Sunset Park fire, the investigation found the area where the fire began had “numerous fires over the years.” Investigators couldn’t even tell which one of previous fires started the blaze.

The problem isn’t that homeless individuals are ignorant of the prohibition on campfires. It’s that they don’t care. They are going to keep building fires until they leave the homeless lifestyle or someone physically stops them.

The first option is the goal of the Campus of Hope, which had a ceremonial groundbreaking last week. The $200 million facility will eventually offer 900 beds and resources for homeless individuals. That’s an eye-popping $222,000 per bed. It projects its annual operating expenses to be $30 million, which works out to around $33,000 per individual if it remains at full capacity. Even with private companies contributing half of the capital costs, homelessness is costly to taxpayers.

But it isn’t enough to offer a hand up. The public at large, enforced by their elected representatives, needs to stop tolerating homelessness. Aggressively enforce camping bans by jailing violators. Make it clear that alcohol and drug addiction are shameful lifestyle choices. Describe homelessness as a public nuisance that degrades neighborhoods, even when illegal fires aren’t burning public parks. Perhaps that sounds harsh, but people absorb the messages sent by their community. Shame, especially when accompanied by a means of escape, remains a powerful motivator.

Homelessness is a problem for society. Just look at those fires. But even the most hopeful campus in the world can’t help those who believe their homelessness is primarily society’s problem, not their own.

Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.