15.0 Lander County Risk/Hazard Assessment Conclusions

15.1 Lander County Risk Assessment Conclusions

The RCI Team developed the recommendations in this report for Lander County communities based on site-specific conditions and characteristics observed during the wildfire risk and hazard assessments and from information provided by local fire departments and agencies. General and specific recommendations provide a starting point for each community to take a proactive approach in implementing projects to reduce the likelihood of loss of life, property, and natural resources during a wildland fire.

The communities in Lander County vary from having a low risk of ignition and low community hazard conditions, as in Battle Mountain, to having a high risk of ignition and high hazard condition, such as in Austin and Kingston. There has been widespread wildfire activity in Lander County and some temporarily reduced fuel loading. However, cheatgrass has become prevalent in many of these areas and has also become established across undisturbed rangelands. Although cheatgrass may not currently pose a serious fuel hazard due to recent drought conditions, the local fuel hazard conditions can increase dramatically in wet years when cheatgrass growth is dense and tall, filling interspaces between shrubs and creating a continuous fuel bed in otherwise sparse fuel conditions.

Austin and Kingston have the highest potential for ignition and structure loss. The primary ignition risk factor is dry lightning. The Bureau of Land Management has already taken steps to implement fuel reduction treatments around these communities. Additional fuel reduction work and defensible space is needed on the Toiyabe National Forest and on private property to complete a comprehensive fuel management strategy. Once these plans are completed and implemented, continual maintenance will be required to achieve lasting protection.

The communities of Altamira Farms, Carico Valley, Grass Valley, and Smoky Valley were assessed as rural ranch communities. In these communities, agricultural fields and pastures generally serve as fuelbreaks between residences and wildland, and the risk of losing a home from a wildfire is diminished. These areas are more at risk of economic loss from damage to ranch improvements, equipment, haystacks, and fences than from residential structure loss. Recommendations for these rural communities in Lander County focus on protection of ranch assets.

All the Lander County communities must rely on limited fire suppression resources provided by the Battle Mountain, Austin and Kingston Volunteer Fire Departments. Additional resources are available from the BLM Battle Mountain and Winnemucca Field Offices, the Nevada Division of Forestry Carlin Conservation Camp, and the US Forest Service Austin Ranger District. However in most cases, additional state and federal resources are more than an hour away. Under the worst-case conditions on a high hazard day, a wildfire could escape the initial response capabilities of volunteer fire departments and burn through communities before additional resources could arrive. This is why it is critically important that every property owner in Lander County create adequate defensible space to protect their homes and property in the event of a wildfire. Learning about fire risks and hazards and how to avoid damage from a wildland fire is critical to the safety and well being of Lander County residents. Assistance with public education can be requested from the Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, the Nevada Division of Forestry, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, and Nevada Fire Safe Council. Assistance with training volunteer firefighters for wildfire suppression can be requested from the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service.

There is no way to completely eliminate the threat that wildfires present to communities at the wildland-urban interface. However, the recommendations in this report are intended to increase public responsibility and encourage concerned community members to be proactive in reducing the risk of wildfire ignitions near their communities. Creating and maintaining defensible space on private property and increasing public awareness of the risks and potential for damage or loss of lives and property associated with living in a fire-prone environment are best accomplished at the local level.

The recommendations presented for each community in this report should be considered a starting point for addressing community wildfire safety. Long-term community safety from wildfire requires a permanent commitment to the enforcement of fire safe ordinances at the local level and dedicated attention to fuels management. Regular monitoring of fuel conditions and periodic updates to this report should include new recommendations for maintenance or implementation of additional treatments as development continues to encroach at the wildland-urban interface.