The Healthy Forests Initiative was announced by the White House in 2002 to implement the core components of the National Fire Plan Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment 10-year Comprehensive Strategy.The Plan calls for more active forest and rangeland management to reduce the threat of wildland fire in the wildland-urban interface, the area where homes and wildland meet. This report was prepared specifically for the communities in Lincoln County, Nevada, as identified in the 2001 Federal Register list of communities at risk of wildfire within the vicinity of federal lands.

The Nevada Fire Safe Council contracted Resource Concepts, Inc. (RCI) to assemble a project team of experts in the fields of fire behavior and suppression, forest and range ecology, and geographic information systems (GIS) to complete the assessment for each Lincoln County community listed in the Federal Register. The RCI Project Team spent several days inventorying conditions in Lincoln County and completing the primary data collection and verification portion of the risk assessment. Field visits were conducted in September 2004.

Five primary factors that affect potential fire hazard were assessed to reach the community hazard assessment score: community design, construction materials, defensible space, availability of fire suppression resources, and physical conditions such as the vegetative fuel load and topography. Information on fire suppression capabilities and responsibilities for Lincoln County communities was obtained through interviews with local Fire Chiefs and local agency Fire Management Officers (state and federal). The RCI The Fire Specialists assigned an ignition risk rating of low, moderate, or high to each community. The rating was based upon historical ignition patterns, interviews with local, state, and federal agency fire personnel, field visits to each community, and the Fire Specialist’s professional judgment based on experience with wildland fire ignitions in Nevada. Table 1-1 lists the communities and identifies the risk and hazard assessment results for each community.

Existing Bureau of Land Management fuel hazard data for the wildland-urban interface was evaluated and field-verified by the Fire and Resource Specialists on the RCI Project Team. The interface fuel hazard condition was determined to be low, moderate, high, or extreme based upon slope, aspect, and vegetation composition and structure.

Four of the Lincoln County communities on the federal register list, Caliente, Mt. Wilson, Panaca, and Pioche (including Caselton Heights), were previously assessed by Resource Concepts Inc. in August 2002. The RCI Project Team reviewed the results and recommendations from the previous assessments and monitored the progress that has been made toward implementing the 2002 recommendations to mitigate wildfire hazards around the communities.

Table 1-1. Community Risk and Hazard Assessment Results

Community	Interface Classification	Interface Fuel Hazard Condition	Ignition Risk	Hazard Rating
Alamo	Classic	Low to Moderate	Low	Low
Ash Springs	Rural	Low to Moderate	Low	NA1
Caliente	Classic	Low to High	High	Moderate2
Eagle Valley/Ursine	Intermix/Classic	Low to Extreme	Moderate	High
Hiko	Rural	Low to Moderate	Low	NA1
Mt. Wilson	Intermix	Extreme	High	Extreme2
Panaca	Classic	Low to Moderate	Moderate	Moderate2
Pioche/Caselton Heights	Intermix	Moderate to Extreme	High	Extreme2
Rachel	Intermix	Low	Low	Moderate
1 The Risk/Hazard Assessment procedures are not applicable to rural ranch communities. 2 The community hazard rating is reported from the previous assessments (RCI 2002). The hazard scoring system previously used in 2002 varied slightly from the methods used during the 2004 assessments.

Existing Situation

Mount Wilson has the most extreme wildfire hazard conditions in Lincoln County. Eagle Valley/Ursine and Pioche/Caselton also have extreme fuel hazard conditions in the wildland-urban interface areas. The elevated hazard rating in Eagle Valley/Ursine is attributed to the heavy pinyon, juniper, and sagebrush fuel loads, inadequate defensible space, limited street and address signage, and limited fire suppression resources. In Pioche/Caselton steep slopes, and narrow, one-way, and dead-end roads reduce accessibility of fire suppression equipment to homes along the wildland-urban interface. Limited defensible space implementation also increases the hazard to the community. In the Mt. Wilson community, an extensive fuel reduction treatment along the access road and interior private roads and around the community boundary have reduced the fuel bed continuity and provides an opportunity for firefighters to take a stand against on oncoming wildfire. However, the community is situated in an area of potentially extreme fire behavior that requires extensive defensible space implementation on private property to further reduce the hazard. Additional fuel reduction treatments, similar to those initially proposed by the BLM for the Mt Wilson area, would improve firefighter and resident safety.

Moderate potential for a catastrophic fire event exists in the wildland-urban interface of the communities of Alamo, Caliente, Panaca, and Rachel. Community design factors such as inadequate street and address signage and limited fire protection and water sources are the primary hazards in these communities.

Ash Springs and Hiko are addressed as rural ranch communities. Rural ranch areas typically consist of widely scattered residences surrounded by agricultural lands that act as a buffer between the residences and any wildland fuels. Additional concerns for this type of community are directed at fire damage to equipment, fences, or haystacks. When the Fire and Resource Specialists on the RCI Project Team visited a rural ranch community, they assessed vegetation, potential fire behavior, and related hazards. They also developed recommendations specific to the ranch area. Community design, construction materials, and defensible space were described qualitatively for the rural ranch communities.

Volunteer fire departments provide the primary fire suppression resources for private land areas of Lincoln County. The Pahranagat Valley Volunteer Fire Department has stations in Alamo and Hiko, and both stations share equipment and resources. Ash Springs and Rachel have no local fire department, but receive fire protection from the Pahranagat Valley VFD. Eagle Valley has a local volunteer fire department of six volunteers with no wildland fire training. Volunteer fire departments also exist in Caliente, Panaca, and Pioche.

Recommendations

Recommendations in this report focus primarily on efforts that homeowners can initiate and implement to enhance the fire safe nature of their communities. Recommendations for creating defensible space are given to homeowners in each community who have not yet reduced fuels on their private property. Defensible space is the homeowner’s responsibility, and it is an essential first line of defense for saving lives and property during a catastrophic wildland fire.

A shaded fuelbreak has been recommended behind residences in Ursine. Residents in Eagle Valley/Ursine need to reduce dense pinyon-juniper stands and sagebrush in order to protect their property from a worst-case scenario fire. In most Lincoln County communities, street and address signage needs improvement so firefighters can easily locate at risk homes or areas of communities in low visibility conditions during a wildfire. Foreseeable future development in Lincoln County warrants adoption of regulations for planning new developments that will ensure adequate fuels reduction treatments are in place and that all new development meets the National Fire Code and Standards.

There is no way to completely eliminate the threat of wildfire in the wildland-urban interface. Close and continued coordination between citizens, local fire departments, Lincoln County, and the Nevada Division of Forestry is crucial for successful implementation of necessary fuel reduction projects to improve fire safety in the wildland-urban interface communities throughout Lincoln County. The objectives of the recommendations in this report are intended to:

• Encourage defensible space as a first priority with implementation of larger fuel reduction projects where needed to reduce the hazards inherent in wildland-urban interface areas.
• Increase public awareness of wildfire risks and hazards in communities, and inform homeowners about what can be done to reduce those risks and hazards.
• Promote community-wide involvement to effectively reduce the risk of wildfire ignitions in and near communities. To be most effective, fire safe practices need to be implemented on a community-wide basis. When neighbors work together, much more can be accomplished community-wide to make a community more fire safe.

Acknowledging the need for ongoing fuels management on public and private lands is vital for fire safe living in a wildfire-prone environment. The best possible assurance for long-term community safety from wildfire requires a permanent commitment to the enforcement of fire safe ordinances at the local level. Mandatory fuels management includes regular monitoring and evaluation of fuel conditions and maintenance or implementation of additional fuel reduction treatments as development continues to encroach at the wildland-urban interface.

Any of the following agencies or organizations can be contacted for further information and assistance.

Nevada Fire Safe Council	firesafe@renonevada.net www.nvfsc.org
Nevada Division of Forestry	Fire Program Coordinator (775) 684-2500
Nevada Association of Counties	nvnaco@nvnaco.org
Bureau of Land Management Nevada State Office	Nevada BLM State Fire Management Officer khull@nv.blm.gov
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Supervisor’s Office	H-T Supervisor’s Office Fire Staff Officer mdondero@fs.fed.us