13.1 Risk and Hazard Assessment

Pahrump is located at 2,650 feet in elevation in a flat valley at the extreme south end of Nye County. The community of 29,000 people is adjacent to Clark County at the junction of State Route 160 and 372. The Pahrump risk/hazard assessment resulted in placing Pahrump in the Low Community Hazard category (34 points). The low hazard rating was primarily attributed to good access, low fuel density, flat topography, and ignition resistant construction materials. A summary of the values that contribute to the community hazard rating is included in Table 13-2.

13.1.1 Community Design

Pahrump is characterized as an intermix wildland-urban interface condition: structures are scattered throughout the wildland area with no clear line of demarcation between wildland fuels, the buildings, and open space throughout the community. Ninety percent of the 1,674 homes observed in the interface area were on lots between one and ten acres in size. The remainder of the homes were on lots less than one acre in size (Figure 13-1).

• Roads: State Route 160 and 372 are the primary access roads into the community. These roads are paved and are at least 24 feet wide. The secondary road grades are less than five percent and have adequate turnaround space for fire suppression equipment.
• Signage: Street signs were visible on 89 percent of the 74 residential streets assessed and addresses were visible on 74 percent of the homes. Clear and visible signage is important to assist fire suppression personnel locate residences during poor visibility conditions that may occur during a wildland fire.
• Utilities: Utilities were both above and below ground. Powerline transformers posed a ignition risk because some of the power line corridors had not been properly maintained.

13.1.2 Construction Materials

Ninety-nine percent of the homes observed in the interface area were built with ignition resistant siding and roofing materials. Most homes were built with stucco, block, or ignition-resistant wood siding materials. Fire resistant roofing materials such as composition roofing, metal, or tile were prevalent. Ten percent of the homes observed had unenclosed balconies, porches, decks, or other architectural features that can create drafty areas where firebrands could accumulate, smolder, and ignite, rapidly spreading fire to the home.

13.1.3 Defensible Space

The majority of the homes (86 percent) met the minimum recommended defensible space guidelines to help protect the home from damage and minimize the potential for loss during a wildfire. However, there are the homes located near several large patches of heavy vegetation within the community that lacked the required defensible space.

13.1.4 Suppression Capabilities

Wildfire Protection Resources

The Pahrump Valley Fire Department is a combination career and volunteer department with 22 career positions. A total of 22 volunteers were reported at the time of the assessment. Seven career firefighters are on duty each day. Four fire stations were reported, one of which is regularly staffed; the other three fire stations house equipment.

Table 13-1 lists the types of wildfire resources, cooperating partners, and equipment available to Pahrump in the event of a reported wildland fire.

Table 13-1. Resources Available to Pahrump for Initial Attack of Wildland Fires

Type of Equipment	Amount of Equipment	Cooperating Partner (Resource Location)
Type 4 Engine Type 3 Engine Type 1 Engine Water Tender (3,500 gallon) Command Vehicle	2 1 1 3 1	Pahrump Fire Department (Pahrump)
Type 3 Engine Type 6 Engine	1 1	US Forest Service (Pahrump Fire Dept. Station #3)
Source: Personal conversation with Fire Chief Scott Lewis, Pahrump FD (June, 29 2004; January 7, 2005).

Additional resources are available through the Clark County Fire Department, the Amargosa Volunteer Fire Department, as well as the Bureau of Land Management and the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Ash Meadows dispatched from the Las Vegas Interagency Communication Center. Fire crews from the Nevada Division of Forestry Tonopah Conservation Camp are dispatched from the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center in Minden. It is important to note that the actual number and type of suppression resources available to respond from neighboring fire departments and agencies is dependent upon the resources on hand at the time of the wildland fire call.

Water Sources and Infrastructure

Water availability for fire suppression in Pahrump includes:

• Community wells.
• 500 gpm hydrants within 1,000 feet of structures in the main section of the community.
• Water storage tanks totaling one million gallons.
• Commercial buildings are required to have 10,000 gallon tanks on-site.
• Fire Department had a total of three water tenders 3,500 gallon each.
• There are several ponds in the area that may be available as draft sources with landowner permission.

Water sources were within a twenty minute or less round trip turn-around for most of the community. The community water system operates on gravity and electrical pumps. There is no backup emergency generator to run the pumps.

Detection and Communication

Fires are reported in the Pahrump area by calling 911 and are communicated to fire response personnel through the Nye County Sheriff Dispatch in Pahrump by using radios and pagers. Not all Pahrump fire radios are compatible with neighboring agencies but can be contacted through state mutual aid frequencies.

Fire Protection Personnel Qualifications

At the time of this report, approximately 75 percent of the volunteer firefighters had been trained to National Fire Protection Administration Firefighter 1 standards. Wildland firefighter training was scheduled for July of 2004 and is conducted annually.

Work Load

The Pahrump Fire Department responded to 6,663 calls in 2003; fifty were wildland / brush fire calls.

Financial Support

Financial support for the Pahrump Fire Department comes primarily from the Pahrump General Fund.

Community Preparedness

Nye County has an active Local Emergency Planning Committee and has adopted an emergency plan, a disaster plan, and an emergency evacuation plan. Pahrump maintains an emergency plan specifically for Pahrump Valley. The Pahrump Fire Department is currently working on formal mutual aid agreements with other local fire agencies.

13.1.5 Factors Affecting Fire Behavior

Rapid growth in Pahrump has resulted in dispersed development in town. The predominant vegetation types around Pahrump include creosote-bursage-shadscale associations and Spinescale, saltbush-fourwing, saltbush-shadscale associations with fuel loads ranging between one and three tons per acre. Inclusions of mesquite, up to twenty feet tall, were also observed near the community. Salt cedar (tamarisk) occurred in large thick patches within the community ranging between twenty and thirty feet in height. Ground fuels consisted of sparse red brome and Russian thistle. The overall interface fuel hazard condition was recorded as a low hazard.

High winds are typically from the south/southwest but can blow from any direction across the flat valley, particularly on summer afternoons. The terrain around Pahrump is generally flat with no topographic features that increase the community’s fire hazard rating.

13.1.6 Fire Behavior Worst-case Scenario

Fuels surrounding the community were generally sparse and would not likely pose a threat to the community. However, a fire started in the heavy mesquite and salt cedar fuels within the community could threaten homes. A fire ignition in the community would be most critical on a high hazard day with the wind blowing over 25 mph in any direction, most likely from the south.

13.1.7 Ignition Risk

The fire history around Pahrump indicates a moderate potential for fire ignition within the community, primarily from human risks. Possible ignition sources include campfires, and arson. Fireworks have been identified as a particular concern in spite of county ordinances prohibiting them, because of their availability in Pahrump at the height of fire season.

13.2 Risk and Hazard Reduction Recommendations, Roles, and Responsibilities

The Pahrump risk and hazard reduction recommendations address the primary concern regarding heavy fuels within the community. Other recommendations pertain to community coordination and public education efforts that could be initiated to enhance fire safety in Pahrump.

13.2.1 Defensible Space Treatments

Defensible space treatments are an essential first line of defense for residential structures. The goal of the treatment is to significantly reduce or remove vegetation within a prescribed distance from structures. (Specific guidelines for defensible space are dependent on fuel type and topography and are given in Appendix E.) Defensible space reduces fire intensity and decreases the potential for loss or damage to structures in the event of an oncoming wildfire.

Property Owner Responsibilities

• Remove, reduce, and replace vegetation around homes according to the guidelines in Appendix E. This area should be kept:
  • Lean: There are only small amounts of flammable vegetation,
  • Clean: There is no accumulation of dead vegetation or other flammable debris, and
  • Green: Existing plants are healthy and green during the fire season.
• Maintain the defensible space condition as needed.
• Immediately remove cleared vegetation to an approved disposal site when implementing defensible space treatments. This material dries quickly and presents a fire hazard if left on site.
• Where cheatgrass has become dominant within the defensible space zone, areas should be mowed prior to seed set, or treated with an application of a pre-emergent herbicide. Prescribed treatments may need to be repeated for several years to ensure that the bank of unwanted annual plants seeds has been depleted. Refer to Appendix E for a recommended seed mixture and planting guidelines that can be used in conjunction with cheatgrass removal.
• Clear around propane tanks for a minimum distance of ten feet and maintain this area free of accumulated vegetation and combustible materials.
• Remove flammable materials and other debris from the defensible space.
• Store lumber, firewood, and other flammable materials a minimum distance of thirty feet from structures.
• Remove or properly enclose trailers and buildings that have been abandoned to prevent unwanted ignition from sparks or firebrands.
• Mow or remove brush, weeds, and other flammable vegetation growing against fences that adjoin structures in the community.
• Maintain the area beneath unenclosed wood decks and porches free of weeds and flammable debris.
• Where homes are located adjacent to dense stands of mesquite and salt cedar, thin the tall brush and trees to a spacing equivalent to one and one-half times the height of the taller trees from crown to crown within a distance of 100 feet from the home and other structures.
• Prune tree branches to at least fifteen feet from chimneys, walls, and roofs of structures.

13.2.2 Community Coordination

Coordination among local, state, and federal fire suppression agencies is important in the day-to-day fire prevention activities and becomes critical in the event of a wildland fire. During a fire event, firefighters from other communities and states may be dispatched to areas they have never been before. This is particularly true in areas that have limited fire suppression resources and will most likely be dependent on an outside agency in the event of a catastrophic wildland fire.

Property Owner Responsibilities

• Form a local chapter of the Nevada Fire Safe Council. The Nevada Fire Safe Council proposes to work on solutions that reduce the risk of loss of lives and property from wildfires in Nevada’s communities. Through the establishment of a local Chapter, communities become part of a large information-sharing network that receives notifications of programs and funding opportunities for fire mitigation projects such as those listed in this report. The Nevada Fire Safe Council will accept and manage grants and contracts on the Chapter’s behalf through its non-profit status. The Nevada Fire Safe Council provides assistance and support to communities to complete fire safe plans, set priorities, educate and train community members, and promote success stories of its members. For more information on forming a chapter, contact;
  

  Nevada Fire Safe Council
  1187 Charles Drive
  Reno, Nevada 89509
  (775) 322-2413
  www.nvfsc.org

• Ensure that residential addresses are visible from the road. The best place to post an address is where the driveway meets the road. Address characters should be at least four inches tall and reflective. Improving the visibility of addresses will facilitate the navigation of unfamiliar neighborhoods for rescue and suppression personnel during a wildfire.

Pahrump Fire Department Responsibilities

• Provide courtesy inspections of residential defensible space measures.
• Participate annually with the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service to discuss pre-attack plans for the community.
• Provide pre-attack plans, including maps of water sources, staging areas, safety zones, etc. to outside agencies that respond to a wildfire event.

Nye County Responsibilities

• Continue to coordinate debris and agricultural burning through the Nye County Sheriff’s dispatch.
• Promote collaboration between the Assessor’s Office and the Roads Department to ensure that all new development roads are named, mapped, signed, and identified with GPS coordinates.
• County Commissions and Rural Planning Commissions should require that all future development in Pahrump meet the National Fire Codes with regards to community design aspects: building construction and spacing, road construction and design, water supply, and emergency access. Refer to Appendix F an example of fire safe recommendations for planning in new developments.

13.2.3 Fuel Reduction

Fuels reduction treatments are applied on a larger scale than defensible space treatments. By permanently changing the fuel structure over large blocks of land to one of a lower volume or reduced flammability with a fuel reduction treatment, the expected result in the event of a catastrophic wildfire would be one of reduced capacity for uncontrolled spread through the treated area.

Pahrump Fire Department Responsibilities

• Remove or mow vegetation within ten feet of all fire hydrants to improve visibility and access to fire personnel.
• Promote an ongoing program for cleaning weeds and debris from around structures and fences in the community.

Nye County Responsibilities

• Where community roads intersect areas of heavy brush or thick salt cedar (tamarisk), clear and maintain the area within twenty feet of the road edges of vegetation by mowing to a height of four inches to reduce fuel hazards and improve access safety.

Utility Company Responsibilities

• Maintain a defensible space that is clear of all vegetation a minimum of thirty feet from the fence lines of all electrical transfer stations. Maintenance is important to minimize wildfire damage to electric utilities and reduce the possibility that sparks created by electric utilities will start a fire in adjacent vegetation.
• Clear a space of no less than fifteen feet from transformers within power line corridors and maintain it free of accumulated vegetation.
• Clear salt cedar (tamarisk) branches within fifteen feet of power lines and transformers.

13.2.4 Public Education

Public education focused on increasing community fire safety is critical. A program that explains fire safe measures in clear and emphatic terms will have an impact on residents in the wildland-urban interface. Informed community members will be more inclined to take actions to effectively reduce fuels and other wildfire hazards around their homes and in their neighborhoods.

Pahrump Fire Department Responsibilities

• Contact the Bureau of Land Management Las Vegas Field Office and the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension for assistance with programs for public education.
• Distribute copies of the publication “Living with Fire” to all property owners. This publication is free of charge. Copies can be requested from the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.

13.2.5 Equipment and Training

Pahrump Fire Department Responsibilities

• Continue to provide basic firefighter training through annual attendance at a BLM of USFS wild Firefighter Training for Volunteer Firefighters or other training opportunities.
• Ensure that wildland fire training and equipment conforms to the national Wildfire coordinating Group 310-1 standards.

Figure 13-1 Pahrump Fire History, Suppression Resources, and Critical Features small | large | x-large

Table 13-2 Pahrump Wildfire Hazard Rating Summary