Nevada Division of Forestry

UPDATE: Carson City Battalion Chief John Arneson says there was one fire only near the fireworks area with firefighters coming from multiple locations to fight it. He said firefighters attacked the fire from three locations, extinguishing it within 20 to 30 minutes after it started.

Fire restrictions will begin Friday on public land throughout western Nevada, eastern California and the Sierra, according to the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

Below-average precipitation this winter and spring and a third consecutive year of drought have led to abnormally low soil-and-fuel moistures, increasing the potential for large and potentially devastating wildfires, the agencies announced.

The Clear Creek watershed that runs through Carson City and Douglas County and Franktown watershed at Washoe Lake are two of 10 areas within the Nevada's national forests to be picked as priority projects designed to combat damage from insects and disease that weakens forests and increases the risk of wildfire, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said Wednesday.

Responding to a provision in the new Farm Bill, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval had asked Tidwell to designate the watersheds and eight other areas for forest health projects.

The Nevada Division of Forestry is hosting “Junk The Junipers,” 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 10, at its Eastlake Office. Residents of local communities are encouraged to bring their junipers, pines, rabbitbrush, sagebrush and other woody vegetation to be chipped for free. Participants will receive a coupon from Moana Nursery for 30 percent off a “good plant choice,” Moana-grown replacement shrub.

Smoke may be visible west of Carson City beginning Monday as the U.S. Forest Service continues prescribed fire operations in numerous locations around the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Prescribed burning may continue through the week and possibly the weekend if weather, staffing and conditions allow, according to the Forest Service. Fire operations are scheduled to take place at Spooner Summit and in the Luther Pass Campground off of Highway 89 near South Lake Tahoe.

Prescribed burns at Tunnel Creek in the Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park backcountry will be held March through May weather permitting, according to the Nevada Division of Forestry.

The Tunnel Creek road, from State Route 28 to Tunnel Creek Station, may be closed in order to conduct the burns. Signs will be posted throughout the area when burns are being conducted.

CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) is seeking applications for the Volunteer Fire Assistance grant program. About $500,000 from the US Forest Service State and Private Forestry program will be available for rural (local and volunteer) fire departments statewide. The purpose of this funding is to improve rural fire departments’ readiness for and response to wildfires, especially those in the wildland urban interface.

Looking for a selection of fall plants before winter kicks in? Saturday is your last chance for trees and plants offered through the Nevada Division of Forestry State Tree Nursery north of Carson City in Washoe Valley.

The nursery will be open for one last day, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. before it closes for the season. A great selection of conservation plants is available for fall planting. Fall is an optimum time for planting as warm soils encourage root growth before the ground freezes. The nursery is located at 885 Eastlake Boulevard.

CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Nevada Division of Forestry would like help determining how widespread and severe the White Satin Moth, Leucoma salicis, infestation is in northern Nevada. The non-native insect is capable of defoliating aspen, cottonwoods and willows.

In flight now, the White Satin Moth can be found flying in the upper canopy of any poplar species and laying eggs or mating on trunks, leaves or branches.

The Nevada Division of Forestry wants you to be on the lookout for a certain type of moth that's considered to be an invasive species.

Officials say they're watching an outbreak of the white Satin Moth. They say the insect damages and kills entire trees, by consuming the leaves.

Photo submitted by David Riske of the fire burning southeast of Carson City on BLM land. The fire is said to have burned about 50 to 70 acres as of around 9 p.m.

Carson City firefighters and crews from the Nevada Division of Forestry and the BLM are on the fire.

The fire is believed to have been caused by a lightning strike.

With a heat wave developing throughout the region, the Carson City Fire Department has now implemented fire restrictions on city and privately owned lands within Carson City, according to the city's website.

Tinder-dry vegetation, lingering drought conditions, increasing daytime temperatures and several human-caused fires have prompted the Bureau of Land Management Carson City District Office, the Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Nevada Division of Forestry’s to announce the implementation of fire restrictions today, Friday, June 28.

Prescribed fires at Lake Tahoe's east shore above Glenbrook and north shore have been blowing smoke into Carson City.
Fire and fuel crews with the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the Forest Service began the controlled burns today. Winds in front of a storm system are pushing smoke into the area, confirmed Carson City Fire Chief Stacey Giomi.

Here are the news releases on the burns:

The members of the newly formed five-member Sagebrush Ecosystem Team, an interagency multidisciplinary entity, were announced recently.

Members of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 388 are ringing in the New Year by knocking on doors throughout Carson City. They are making personal visits to those who helped bring the Traveling Wall Memorial to Mills Park for “Battle Born Days” and the Nevada Day celebrations.

Slash piles in the North Canyon area east of Carson City are up for burning beginning Monday, Nov. 26, weather permitting, according to the Nevada Division of Forestry. Meanwhile, forestry crews will conduct pile burning at Sand Harbor, Slaughterhouse Canyon and the Van Sickle Unit at South Lake Tahoe. The burning will continue through March.
The Nevada Division of Forestry implements forest restoration and fuel reduction projects on about 300 acres annually within Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park funded through the Environmental Improvement Program.

UPDATE 3:26PM: The fire burning in East Washoe Valley is 50 percent contained as of 3:22 this afternoon. Two out-buildings were destroyed, and no homes burned. Mutual aid firefighters called to fight the Lyon Fire, are now being relieved and remaining crews are doing mop-up, said Truckee Meadows Fire Chief Charlie Moore.
The fire burned about 5 acres. As of 3:20 winds had considerably lessened and the fire is putting out a fraction of the smoke it had earlier in the day when it started at around 12:30, Moore said. Eastlake Boulevard is opened at Highway 395 south. Residents who were evacuated from the area can return to their homes and should have photo identification with them.
"The chances of the fire growing larger are quite minimal. There is little risk to structures and property and the rest now is left to mopping up," Moore said.

UPDATE 2:23PM: Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center reports the fire burning in Washoe Valley near Eastlake Boulevard is under control and crews are in the mop-up phase.
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Although you might not feel it, the weather is starting to change in North Lake Tahoe. Days are still warm, with temperatures averaging in the 60s, but nights are dropping to approximately 35 degrees. It’s the time of year that the region’s upper elevations may even see a dusting of snow.

“We’ve been reviewing all the long-range forecasts,” said Chief Marketing Officer Andy Chapman of the North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association. “And if Mother Nature keeps up her end, we should have above-average snowfall this winter.”

CARSON CITY - The state of Nevada will pay $125,000 to a former Nevada Division of Forestry dispatcher who was fired soon after she told her bosses she was pregnant.
The state Board of Examiners agreed Tuesday to make the payment to Tawnya Meyer after being told by the attorney general's office that they might have to pay as much as $374,000 if the lawsuit went to court.

UPDATE 8:45AM: Highway 395 has reopened with controls (pilot vehicle) so expect delays and watch for fire vehicles, according to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center.
The fire, which has burned more than 2,000 acres, is burning mostly upslope east of Highway 395 into predominately BLM public lands in the southern Pine Nut Mountains. There is a decreasing threat to approximately 30 homes west of the highway. If the fire were to jump the highway, however, this is looking less likely as fire personnel consolidate fire lines. No structures have been lost at this time. Power lines down at the fire scene, but they are deenergized, which is impacting some local rural residences. The fire is 5 percent contained. Full containment expected by Sept. 24. An aerial reconnaisance this morning will evaluate fire acreage and behavior. Nine airtankers are currently assigned to the incident, which includes four large airtankers and five single-engine airtankers (SEATs).
Structure protection is being handled by units of the East Fork Fire Protection District (Douglas County).
Incident Command Post is at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
One minor firefighter non-burn injury reported.

Seasonal drying conditions, increasing daytime temperatures and a number of human-caused fires have prompted the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Carson City District Office and the Nevada Division of Forestry’s Sierra Forest Fire Protection District to announce the implementation of fire restrictions on Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at 12:01 a.m., and lasting until further notice.

Douglas County officials scaled back the number of homes burned in the TRE Fire on Tuesday night to two homes from seven, however, 17 outbuildings were destroyed and the fire burning in south Douglas County at Topaz Ranch Estates has grown to 4,400 acres.
Sgt. Jim Halsey of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office reported the clarification in a news release. The fire continues to move in a northeasterly direction, away from homes in the Topaz Ranch Estates residential area.

The Nevada Division of Forestry is conducting prescribed burns at Tunnel Creek in the Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park backcountry from March through May, 2012, weather permitting.
The Tunnel Creek road, from State Route 28 to Tunnel Creek Station may be closed in order to conduct the burns.
Signs will be posted throughout the area when burns are being conducted.
Nearly 100 acres are being treated in 15 separate phases.
The burns are part of ongoing fuels treatment and forest restoration efforts in the Lake Tahoe area.

UPDATE 510PM: Fire burns more than 3,000 acres with zero containment; 4,000 evacuated; no count on home and structure losses.

At 4:40 pm this afternoon, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, under his constitutional and statutory authority, made a state declaration of emergency which qualifies local governments for federal assistance associated with this event. The National Guard is on standby at the request of Sandoval and Washoe County. California has also provided fire assistance as part of a Governor to Governor agreement with Jerry Brown. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been and are being affected by this fire,” Sandoval said. “Declaring a state of emergency ensures that every resource from the local, state and federal level is available to assist. The Nevada Division of Forestry and the Department of Public Safety have also engaged with local responders.” Additionally, Nevada has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG). As a result, Nevada is eligible for up to 75 percent funding assistance for eligible costs. The request was made by the Nevada Division of Forestry on behalf of Washoe County at the onset of the fire.

More below the fold.

UPDATE 6:30PM: Fire officials have reduced the amount of acres having burned on the east side of Carson City. Tonight officials report 300 acres have been consumed so far in the Laurel Fire burning on BLM land off of Deer Run Road. While no structures are threatened at this time, there is no estimate of containment.

Nevada Division of Forestry Capt. Paul S. Cash of Elko's name will be added to the Nevada Firefighters' Memorial in Carson City on Saturday, bringing to 64 the number of Nevada firefighters memoria...

Today, firefighters throughout the region continue to battle the Buckeye Fire, five miles west of Bridgeport. The Buckeye Fire started yesterday, September 25, 2011 around 11 a.m.

No structures have been lost and no injuries have been reported. Firefighters have been faced with steep terrain and changing wind conditions making it a difficult fire to contain. As of this morning the size of the fire is estimated to be approximately 1,200 acres. At the time of this release there is no estimate on when containment will occur. The investigation of the cause of the fire is still ongoing.

Fire crews are finishing up work on a small brush fire that broke out on the east side of Carson City, south of Highway 50 East.

A Nevada Division of Forestry helicopter was seen dropping several loads of water on the area after personnel from Carson City Fire Department and the Bureau of Land Management contained the fire on the ground. There were no structures visible near the fire.

When it first started, a big column of smoke was visible throughout the city, and reports at the time said it is more than one acre and spreading toward Rifle Range Road.