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 Spring 2002, in collaboration with County Commissioners, State Foresters, and tribal officials. The plan calls for more active forest and rangeland management to reduce wildfire hazards in the wildland-urban interface.

The Healthy Forest Restoration Act (H.R. 1904) was signed into law in December 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 for at risk communities in Nevada. The communities to be assessed are among those named in the 2001 Federal Register list of wildland-urban interface communities at risk within the vicinity of Federal lands (66 FR 160). The list identifies Nevada communities adjacent to Federal lands that are most vulnerable to the threat of wildfire.

Resource Concepts, Inc. (RCI), a Carson City-based consulting firm, was selected to conduct the Community Risk/Hazard Assessments. During 2004, the RCI Project Team visited over 250 communities in seventeen Nevada counties to assess both the risk of ignition and the potential fire behavior hazard. Procedures accepted by Nevada’s wildland fire agencies were used to reach consistent and objective evaluations of 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 (equipment and infrastructure).
Conduct fuel hazard mapping for communities with high and extreme community hazard ratings.
Describe proposed risk and hazard mitigation projects in enough detail to aid communities in applying for future implementation funds.
Distribute assessment results and proposed mitigation project descriptions to each county in an easily updated and useful form 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 catalogued features that can have an influence on hazardous conditions in the event of a wildfire. Interviews with local fire agency and emergency response personnel were conducted to assess the availability of suppression resources and identify opportunities for increased community preparedness. A description of the existing fuel hazard and fire behavior potential is discussed for each community. Photo points and fuel hazard maps are presented for each community where the community hazard is high or extreme.

The results of each community assessment are formatted to facilitate ease of reference and reproduction for individual communities. Each community is mapped along with descriptions of ignition risks, fire hazards, and recommended mitigation projects. The recommendations are summarized in table form and presented on a 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’s 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:

Nevada Fire Safe Council (NFSC)
USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
USDA Forest Service (FS)
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

The Federal Register (66 FR 160) identified 42 communities at risk within Elko County within proximity to Federal Lands. Two additional communities were added to the assessment for a total of 44. Table 1-3 lists all of the Elko County communities included in this assessment.

Table 1-3. Elko County Communities Included in the Risk and Hazard Assessment

Adobe Heights
Adobe Ranchos
Carlin
Charleston
Clover Valley
Contact
Currie
Deeth/Starr Valley
Elburz
Elko
Gold Creek
Goose Creek
Hidden Valley/ Coal Mine Canyon
Humboldt Ranchettes
Independence Valley
Jackpot
Jarbidge
Jiggs/Smith Creek
Lamoille
Lee/South Fork Indian Reservation
Lucky Nugget I & II
Maggie Summit Road
Midas
Montello
Mountain City
North Fork
O’Neil Basin
Oasis
Odger’s Ranch
Osino
Owyhee
Pilot Valley
Ruby Lake Estates
Ruby Lake NWR and Hatchery
Ruby Valley
Ruby Valley Indian Allotments
Ryndon
Shanty Town
Spring Creek
Ten Mile
Tuscarora
Wells
West Wendover
Wild Horse Estates

There are several agricultural ranch communities in Elko County. Goose Creek, Independence Valley, Maggie Summit Road, O’Neil Basin, Odger’s Ranch, and Ruby Valley have livestock or agricultural interests and face more of a risk of economic losses from damage to ranch improvements and crop stockpiles than risks to residential structures. Ranches typically have agricultural fields, stockyards, feedlots or other areas with low fuel hazards that provide a buffer zone between homes and wildland fuels. Recommendations specific to ranching communities have been developed to help keep property and ranch holdings fire safe.

There may be additional rural areas or small subdivisions in Elko County that were not included on the Federal Register list, and thus not included in this project. Many of the recommendations developed for similar communities in this report may apply to additional areas. However, conditions in and around some communities may warrant future wildfire hazard/risk assessment.