22.1 Risk and Hazard Assessment

The Reno-Southeast community includes the portion of Reno that is located east of Virginia Street, and south of Sparks. The community is situated at the base of the Virginia Range foothills and south of the Truckee River.

The Reno-Southeast community boundary is shown in Figure 22-1. The-community boundary encompasses geographically diverse conditions, varied fuel conditions, and a wide range of urban development styles. The results reported for this project represent a general overview of the entire urban-interface condition. The community hazard assessment resulted in classifying Reno-Southeast in the Moderate Hazard Category (41 points). A summary of factors that contributed to the hazard rating is included in Table 22-3. Primary factors that determined the hazard rating in Reno-Southeast included the potential for hazardous fire behavior in the surrounding foothills that is mitigated somewhat by good defensible space around most homes.

Portions of Reno Southeast are rapidly expanding and community boundaries shown in this report will need to be updated on a regular basis. More detailed analyses of smaller neighborhoods within the communities could better reflect community risk and hazard conditions at the local level.

22.1.1 Community Design

The wildland-urban interface area in Reno-Southeast is characterized as an intermix condition. There is no clear line of demarcation between wildland fuels and the residential structures in the community. Most of the residences are located on lots less than one acre in size.

• Access: US Highway 395, State Route 341, Virginia Street, McCarran Boulevard, and Longley Lane are the primary transportation routes providing access to and from the community. The roads are greater than 24 feet wide and provide adequate space for two-way vehicular travel and for fire suppression equipment to maneuver.
• Signage: Ninety-six percent of the street signs in the community are easily visible. Almost all of the residential addresses are easily visible from the road. Clear and visible street signs and residential addresses are important in locating homes during low visibility conditions that occur during a wildfire.
• Utilities: All utilities are above ground. Power lines have not been properly maintained in all areas of the community. Proper maintenance minimizes the possibility that arcing may start fires in nearby vegetation. In some areas of the community, the recommended ten feet of vegetation clearance does not exist around propane tanks.

22.1.2 Construction Materials

Almost all of the homes in the interface are built with non-combustible or ignition resistant siding such as medium density fiberboard, stucco, or brick. Ninety-four percent of the homes have roofs of non-combustible material such as tile, metal, or composition. Approximately nine percent of the homes observed have unenclosed balconies, porches, decks, or other architectural features that can create drafty areas where sparks and embers can be trapped, smolder, ignite, and rapidly spread fire to the house.

22.1.3 Defensible Space

Approximately 93 percent of the homes surveyed in Reno-Southeast have landscaping that meets defensible space guidelines to protect the home from damage or loss during a wildfire.

22.1.4 Suppression Capabilities

Wildfire Protection Resources

The Reno-Southeast neighborhoods are protected by Reno/Truckee Meadows Fire Department. Fire stations staffed by four career firefighters daily are located at Old Virginia Road and Mira Loma Road, Reno/Truckee Meadows Auxiliary Hidden Valley Road and Brown-Huffaker Volunteer Fire Department on Geiger Grade Road. Table 22-1 lists the types of wildfire resources available in and near the Reno-Southeast area in the event of a reported wildland fire.

Table 22-1. Reno-Southeast Initial Attack Wildfire Suppression Resources

Type of Resource	Amount of Equipment	Cooperating Partner (Resource Location)
Engine/Tender Type 1 Engine Type 3 Engine Type 6	1 1 1	Brown Huffaker Volunteer Fire Department (Truckee Meadows Station 24)
Engine Type 3 Engine Type 1 Water Tender Type 1 Battalion Chief Safety Officer	3 1 1 1 1	Reno Fire Department (Closest available career and volunteer resources)
Source: Terry Donohue, Chief Brown-Huffaker VFD; Marty Scheuerman DC, Reno Fire Department; Roy Slate Volunteer Coordinator Reno Fire Department

Reno Fire Department responds with additional resources from the closest available career staffed station according to their standard wildland fire dispatch. Other local, state, and federal resources are available upon request through mutual agreements as described in Section 4.1.1.

Water Sources and Infrastructure

Water available for fire suppression in Reno-Southeast area includes fire hydrants with minimum flow capacities of 1,000 gallons per minute within 500 feet of structures. The water system operates on gravity and electric pumps with emergency back-up generators and includes several water storage tanks.

Detection and Communication

Fires are reported in Washoe County through the 911 system, which connects the call with the Washoe County 911 Center. Washoe County 911 notifies the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center of wildland fires. The Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center notifies the Volunteer Fire Departments, the Nevada Division of Forestry, the Bureau of Land Management, and the US Forest Service of fires through the use of pagers and radios.

Communication frequencies are currently compatible between agencies. When the federal agencies go to narrow band digital radios, the volunteers will no longer be able to communicate with the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service.

Fire Protection Personnel Qualifications

All career firefighters are trained to the State Fire Marshal’s Firefighter I and II standards. Wildland firefighting training is provided to meet the NWCG 310-1 standards.

Financial Support

Financial support for the Reno/Truckee Meadows Fire Department is provided through the City of Reno General Fund and Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District. The Brown-Huffaker Volunteer Fire Department receives an annual stipend from the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District.

Community Preparedness

Washoe County maintains an Emergency Plan for Hazardous Materials through the Washoe County Local Emergency Planning Committee and the City of Reno is currently completing All-Risk Disaster Plan with the intentions of incorporating the recommendations from this report into the City plan.

The Virginia Foothills Chapter of the Nevada Fire Safe Council was recently formed, early in 2005. This group is working to create a fuelbreak along the east perimeter of the community, remove vegetation along road easements, and has facilitated implementation of defensible space treatments throughout the community.

22.1.5 Factors Affecting Fire Behavior

The terrain in the Reno-Southeast community is flat along the old Steamboat Creek floodplain and terrace. Slopes increase between eight and twenty percent in the Virginia Range foothills. In the south end of the community homes are located on steep slopes of narrow canyons where winds can create potentially hazardous wildfire conditions. The prevailing wind direction is from the west and southwest.

The vegetative fuels along Steamboat Creek and the west side of the Via Bianca Trailer Park are dominated by tall whitetop, a state-listed noxious weed, with lesser amounts of sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and willow. On the south side of the community from the Vi Bianca Trailer Park and Toll Road area to the perimeter of the 2004 Andrew Lane Fire, the vegetation consists of big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, Mormon tea, cheatgrass, and perennial grasses with scattered pinyon and juniper trees. This fuel type extends through most of the unburned areas of the Virginia Range foothills. The fuel loads were estimated at four to six tons per acre and were considered a high fuel hazard. In adjacent burned areas, cheatgrass and some surviving pinyon and juniper trees are the dominant vegetation, estimated at less than two tons per acre.

22.1.6 Fire Behavior Worst-Case Scenario

The worst-case scenario for the Via Bianca Trailer Park, Toll Road, and Virginia Foothill areas would be a human caused fire or dry lightning storm on a late afternoon in the summer of an above-normal precipitation year with abundant cheatgrass production. Fires to the south and west of the area would be pushed through the area by predominant west to southwest winds. However, strong erratic winds associated with thunderstorms, greater than twenty miles per hour, could push fires into the community from any direction. The rest of the Reno-Southeast area north of Virginia Foothills is heavily developed or is agricultural lands. There are moderate fuels to the east of these developments, however predominate west to southwest wind would tend to push fires away from structures.

22.1.7 Ignition Risk Assessment

There is a high potential for fire ignition in the Reno-Southeast area due to summer afternoon thunderstorms and high use of the area by the public. The area has a history of multiple ignitions and large fires.

22.2 Risk and Hazard Reduction Recommendations

The responsibility to keep a community fire safe falls not only on the local fire protection district but also on the residents of the community, businesses, and local governments. The recommendations for the Reno-Southeast area focus primarily on additional efforts that could be taken by community members and public agencies to increase wildland fire safety through reduction of fuels that pose a hazard. Other recommendations pertain to community coordination and public education efforts that could be undertaken to enhance fire safety.

22.2.1 Defensible Space Treatments

Defensible space treatments are an essential first line of defense for residential structures. The goal of the treatments is to significantly reduce or remove flammable vegetation within a prescribed distance from structures. (Refer to Appendix E for the recommended defensible space area). Defensible space reduces the fire intensity and improves firefighter and homeowner chances for successfully defending a structure against oncoming wildfire.

Property Owner Recommendations

• Remove, reduce, and replace vegetation to create defensible space around homes according to the guidelines in Appendix E. This area should be kept:
  • Lean: There are only small amount of flammable vegetation.
  • Clean: There is no accumulation of dead vegetation or other flammable debris.
  • Green: Existing plants are healthy and green during the fire season.
• Store firewood a minimum distance of thirty feet from structures.
• Clear all dead plant material and combustible materials a minimum of five feet from the exterior of all structures.
• Mow or remove brush growing against fences in the community. The minimum distance for clearance should be ten feet in grass and 25 feet in brush.
• Enclose areas under wood decks and porches when possible or maintain these areas to be free of weeds and other flammable debris. Box in eves and cover ventilation openings with very fine metal wire mesh to prevent embers from entering the attic and crawl spaces.
• Clear all vegetation and combustible materials around propane tanks for a minimum of ten feet.
• Clear weeds and brush to a width of ten feet along both sides of the driveways.
• Maintain a minimum clearance of thirty feet from the crown of trees that remain within the defensible space zone. Keep this area free of smaller trees, shrubs, and other ladder fuels.
• Trim and remove tree branches a minimum of four feet from the ground to reduce ladder fuels on all deciduous and coniferous trees within the defensible space zone. Prune all dead and diseased branches.
• Prune all tree branches to a minimum distance of fifteen feet from buildings, paying special attention around chimneys.
• Install spark arrestors on chimneys.
• Replace wood shake roofs with fire resistant roofing materials.
• Replace ornamental junipers in landscaped areas with fire resistant species.
• Mow grass within the defensible space zone to maintain a maximum height of four inches.
• Thin sagebrush and other shrubs to a spacing between shrubs that is equal to twice the shrub height.
• Immediately dispose of cleared vegetation when implementing defensible space treatments. This material dries quickly and poses a fire hazard if left on site.
• Where possible, irrigate all trees and large shrubs that remain in close proximity to structures to increase their fire resiliency. This is especially important during drought conditions.
• Where cheatgrass has become dominant within the defensible space zone, areas should be mowed prior to seed maturity or treated with an application of a pre-emergent herbicide.[15] Treatments may need to be repeated for several years to ensure that the seed bank of unwanted annual grass 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.
• Maintain the defensible space as needed.

22.2.2 Fuels Reduction Treatments and Fuelbreaks

Fuel reduction treatments are applied on a larger scale than defensible space treatments. Permanently changing the fuel characteristics over large blocks of land to one of a lower volume and altered distribution reduces the risk of a catastrophic wildfire in the treated area. Reducing vegetation along roadways and driveways could reduce the likelihood of blocking access and escape routes, help contain the fire perimeter, and improve firefighter access and safety for protecting homes.

Utility Company Recommendation

• Reduce and remove vegetation to maintain clearance around power lines. Clear vegetation within fifteen feet of utility poles near the community. Remove all trees from under power lines. Reduce and remove vegetation to maintain a minimum clearance of thirty feet from fences around power substations.

Washoe County Roads Department and Nevada Department of Transportation Recommendation

• Reduce vegetation and maintain roads by mowing all vegetation to a height of no more than four inches for a distance of twenty feet from the edge of the pavement on both sides of the road. Remove biomass and dispose at an appropriate site. Reseed treated areas with fire resistant species such as recommended in Appendix E to minimize cheatgrass and noxious weed invasion.

Property Owner Recommendation

• Construct a fuelbreak 100 feet wide along the south side of Steamboat Estates Trailer Park by mowing vegetation to a height not to exceed four inches. Reseed treated areas with fire resistant species such as recommended in Appendix E to control cheatgrass and noxious weed invasion.

22.2.3 Fire Suppression Resources and Training

Brown-Huffaker Volunteer Fire Department and Reno/Truckee Meadows Fire Department Recommendation

Meet annually with the Nevada Division of Forestry, the Bureau of Land Management, and the US Forest Service to review pre-attack plans and to coordinate firefighting resources and response procedures including testing radio compatibility and coverage. Upgrade radios to new narrowband/digital technologies as needed to maintain communications with the federal agencies.

22.2.4 Community Coordination

Property Owner Recommendations

• Assure that address signs are visible from the road. Address characters should be at least four inches high, reflective, and composed of non-flammable material. Improving visibility of addresses will make it easier for those unfamiliar with the area to navigate under smoky conditions during a wildland fire.

City of Reno Recommendations

• Continue to require all future development in the interface areas within the City to meet the National Fire Codes with regard to community design, building construction and spacing, road construction and design, water supply, and emergency access. Refer to Appendix F for an example of fire safe recommendations for planning new developments.
• Develop and enforce ordinances regarding fuel reduction and defensible space requirements for wildland-urban interface areas. Require defensible space implementation and maintenance on all developed lots and fuel reduction on all vacant lots within the interface area. Require approval by the appropriate fire agency of completed fuel reduction treatments prior to issuance of building permits for new wildland-urban interface developments.
• Facilitate coordinated and collaborative efforts at the local, County and State levels for consistency in fire safe community planning and enforcement of fire safe ordinances in a unified manner.

Brown-Huffaker VFD and Reno / Truckee Meadows Fire Department Recommendation

• Conduct more detailed analyses of smaller neighborhoods within the community to better reflect community risk and hazard conditions at the local level.

22.2.5 Public Education

A public education program that explains fire safe measures in clear and emphatic terms will have an impact on residents of the wildland-urban interface. Informed community members will be more inclined to make efforts to effectively reduce wildfire hazards around their homes and neighborhoods.

Property Owner Recommendation

• Participate in public education opportunities and become knowledgeable of emergency evacuation procedures.

Brown-Huffaker Volunteer Fire Department and Reno/Truckee Meadows Fire Department Recommendations

• 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.
• Prepare an evacuation plan and post or otherwise distribute this plan to residents. This plan should include information regarding evacuation routes, evacuation procedures, designated fire safe zones, and procedures for sheltering in place in case evacuation becomes infeasible during a fast moving firestorm.

22.3 Summary of Recommendations

Table 22-2. Reno - Southeast Priority Recommendations to Reduce Wildfire Risks and Hazards

Involved Party	Recommended Treatment	Recommendation Description
Property Owners	Defensible Space	Remove, reduce, and replace vegetation around homes according to the defensible space guidelines in Appendix E.
	Community Coordination	Improve address visibility from the road.
	Public Education	Participate in public education opportunities and become knowledgeable of emergency evacuation procedures.
	Fuels Reduction	Construct a fuelbreak 100 feet wide on the south side of Steamboat Estates Trailer Park.
Utility Company	Fuels Reduction	Reduce and maintain vegetation in power line corridors. Maintain fifteen feet of clearance around utility poles. Maintain thirty feet of clearance from fence around power substations.
NDOT Washoe County	Fuels Reduction	Reduce and remove vegetation in road right-of-ways to maintain an average four-inch vegetation height. Reseed treated areas to minimize cheatgrass and noxious weed invasion.
City of Reno	Community Coordination	Continue to require all future development in the City to meet the national fire codes with regard to community design aspects, building construction and spacing, road construction and design, water supply, and emergency access. Develop and/or enforce county laws, regulations, and ordinances for defensible space and fuels reduction that include absentee homeowners, vacant lots, and new subdivisions. Facilitate coordinated and collaborative efforts at the County and State levels for consistency in fire safe community planning and enforcement of fire safe ordinances in a unified manner.
Reno/Truckee Meadows Fire Department Brown-Huffaker VFD	Community Coordination	Consider the need for more detailed risk and hazard assessment of smaller neighborhoods.
	Resources and Training	Meet annually with the Nevada Division of Forestry, the US Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management to discuss and update pre-attack plans for the community and test radio coverage and compatibility.
	Public Education	Develop an emergency evacuation plan for Reno Northwest area. Distribute copies of the publication “Living with Fire” to all property owners.

Table 22-3 Reno - Southeast Wildfire Hazard Rating Summary

Figure 22-1 Reno - Southeast Fire History, Suppression Resources, Critical Features, and Proposed Mitigation Projects small | large | x-large