1.0 Introduction

1.1 Project Background

A key element of the Healthy Forests Initiative announced by the White House in 2002 is the implementation of core components of the National Fire Plan Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment 10-year Comprehensive Strategy. Federal agencies and Western State Governors adopted the Plan in the spring of 2002 in collaboration with County Commissioners, State Foresters, and tribal officials. The Plan calls for more active forest and rangeland management to reduce the threat of wildfire in the wildland-urban interface.

The Healthy Forest Restoration Act (H.R. 1904) was signed into law in December of 2003. The act creates provisions for expanding the activities outlined in the National Fire Plan. In the same year the Nevada Fire Safe Council received National Fire Plan funding through the Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management to conduct a Community Risk/Hazard Assessment in communities at risk across Nevada. The communities to be assessed are among those named in the 2001 Federal Register list of communities within the vicinity of Federal lands most vulnerable to wildfire threat in Nevada (66 FR 160).

Resource Concepts, Inc. (RCI), a Carson City consulting firm, was selected to conduct the Community Risk/Hazard Assessments. During 2004, The RCI Project Team, consisting of fire behavior specialists, forest and rangeland fuels specialists, and field technicians visited over 250 communities in seventeen Nevada counties to assess both the risk of ignition and the potential fire behavior hazard within the wildland-urban interface, places where homes and wildland meet. Procedures accepted by Nevada wildland fire agencies were used to reach consistent and objective evaluations in each community.

The specific goals of the Nevada Community Risk/Hazard Assessment Project are to:

Assess the wildfire hazards present to each community on the Federal Register list of communities at risk in Nevada,
Identify firefighting resource needs (e.g. equipment and infrastructure),
Conduct fuel hazard mapping for high fuel hazard communities.
Describe proposed risk and hazard mitigation projects in enough detail to aid communities in applying for future implementation funds, and
Distribute assessment results and proposed mitigation project descriptions to each County in a format that will be easily updated and useful for public meetings and other public education activities.

The Community Risk/Hazard Assessments were conducted systematically. The RCI Project Team observed and recorded the factors that influence the risk of wildfire ignition along the wildland-urban interface, and they inventoried features that could have an influence on hazardous conditions in the event of a wildfire. Interviews with local fire agency and emergency response personnel were completed to assess the availability and capability of suppression resources and identify opportunities for increased community preparedness. A description of the existing fuel hazard and fire behavior potential is presented for each community. For communities with a Community Hazard Rating of “High” or “Extreme,” photo points and field-verified fuel hazard maps are presented. The communities of Cold Creek, Kyle Canyon, Lee Canyon, Mountain Springs, Nelson, Torino Ranch, and Trout Canyon meet these criteria.

The results of the assessments are formatted to facilitate ease of reference and reproduction for individual communities. A glossary of wildland fire terms is included in Appendix A. Each community is mapped and ignition risks, fire hazards, and recommended mitigation projects are described. The recommendations are presented on the community map, if the proposed mitigation project can be graphically represented. These tools will aid local, state, and federal agencies in strategic planning, raising public awareness, and securing funding to implement risk and hazard reduction projects. Mitigating the risks and hazards identified by these assessments is not only crucial to the long term goals of the National Fire Plan, but also to the short and long term viability of Nevada communities, natural resources, infrastructures, and watersheds.

Numerous agencies and individuals were involved in the planning and implementation of this effort. Special thanks and acknowledgement is given to the following:

Nevada Fire Safe Council (NFSC)
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF)
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE)
Nevada Association of Counties (NACO)
Nevada’s Counties
Fire Chiefs and firefighters statewide

1.2 Communities Assessed

This assessment included 28 communities at risk in proximity to Federal Lands that were identified on the Federal Register list (66 FR 160). Two additional communities were included: Palm Garden Estates and Torino Ranch. Palm Garden Estates is a rapidly growing new community. Torino Ranch, a particular concern for the Clark County Fire Department, is used as a summer camp for underprivileged and terminally ill children. Torino Ranch was threatened by the Lost Cabin Fire in 2001. The locations of the thirty Clark County communities included in the assessment are shown in Figure 3-1, and they are listed below.

Arden
Blue Diamond
Boulder City
Bunkerville
Cactus Springs
CalNevAri
Cold Creek
Cottonwood Cove
Glendale
Goodsprings
Henderson
Indian Springs
Kyle Canyon
Las Vegas
Laughlin
Lee Canyon
Logandale
Mesquite
Moapa
Mountain Springs
Nelson
North Las Vegas
Overton
Palm Garden Estates
Primm
Sandy Valley
Searchlight
Sloan
Torino Ranch
Trout Canyon

1.3 Communities Not Assessed

1.3.1 Jean

Jean is located at the junction of State Route 604 and the road to Sandy Valley. There are two casinos and no permanent residences in Jean. Because the vegetation is very sparse, there is low ignition risk, and there are no homes. An assessment was not completed for Jean.

There may be additional rural areas or new subdivisions in Clark County that were not included on the Federal Register list or specifically requested for assessment by the County. Conditions in and around some of these areas may warrant future wildfire hazard/risk assessments. However, many of the recommendations developed for similar communities assessed in this report may apply to additional areas.