Nevada officials approve $3.8M to cover cost of wildfires

Las Vegas Review-Journal

6 years ago

The northern flank of the Martin Fire in Northern Nevada is seen from the air July 10. The nearly 450,000-acre fire highlights the danger posed by invasive species of cheatgrass. (Bureau of Land Management)

An aircraft drops fire retardant on the Martin Fire in Northern Nevada on July 7, 2018. (Bureau of Land Management)

Undated photo of the Martin Fire burning in Northern Nevada. (Sebastian Christiansen, Sawtooth IHC via Bureau of Land Management)

Map showing the area of destruction caused by the Martin Fire in Northern Nevada as of July 13, 2018. (Bureau of Land Management)

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Board of Examiners on Tuesday approved $3.8 million to help cover the costs of the efforts to combat the historic wildfires that charred the state this year.

The board, made up of Gov. Brian Sandoval, Attorney General Adam Laxalt and Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, unanimously approved the allocation of funds for the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The money will come out of a state contingency account.

Nevada State Forester Kacey KC told the board that 607 fires have burned more than 1.1 million acres within the state this year. Of those, 324 have been human caused, she said.

The Martin Fire, which started north of Winnemucca in July, burned nearly 440,000 acres as it stretched across Northern Nevada, leaving behind a burn scar that is visible from space.

That fire, KC said, was one of the fastest-moving fires the state has seen due to a combination of invasive cheatgrass and late season moisture that brought in significantly more fuel to burn.

“Unfortunately, I think that may be our new norm,” KC said of the fire’s speed.

KC also noted that the fires have ravaged much of the critical sage grouse territory, which the state has for years worked to rehabilitate. Some of that area will bounce back naturally, KC said, but “most of it will have issues and will need to be helped as we move forward.”

Some of that $3.8 million that was approved Tuesday may be reimbursable from the federal government because so much of the burned area is federally owned.

And while the fire activity has subsided from the peak it saw this summer, KC said the new reality means that fire season is effectively year-round.

“We’re not quite out of the woods,” she said.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.