36.0 Conclusions

The RCI Project Team developed the recommendations in this report for Washoe County based on site-specific 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 described in this report to take a proactive approach to implement projects that will reduce the risks of loss of life, property, and natural resources from wildland fire.

Thousands of acres in the wildland-urban interface areas of Washoe County are exposed to the threat of wildland fire each year. There is an extensive wildfire and ignition history and the fuels around many Washoe County communities have burned or repeatedly burned in the recent past. Many burned areas are now dominated by cheatgrass and are more susceptible to ignition, especially during years with higher than normal precipitation and abundant cheatgrass growth. Future priorities should include rehabilitation treatments immediately following fires with adapted fire resistant species to reduce invasion of cheatgrass and other noxious weeds.

Communities in west Washoe County are situated in areas of steep, heavily vegetated, mountainous terrain with dynamic wildland fire histories. Several wildland fire agencies share responsibilities for fire suppression in this region. The Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators is a unique coalition of local, state, and federal fire agencies working together to maximize fire suppression resources and coordinate pre-attack planning, communications, and dispatch. An area of future concern for cooperating agencies is the transition of federal agencies to narrow band digital radios and the potential inability to communicate with them while using existing radio equipment.

Two thirds of the communities in Washoe County have high or extreme fuel hazard conditions in the wildland-urban interface areas. Serious fuel conditions in some communities, such as Verdi and Reno-Northwest, occur on interior lots within the community. Fuels reduction treatments are needed in steep drainages, greenbelts and open spaces. In these cases, local fire departments are recommended to coordinate community-wide fuel reduction and biomass disposal programs.

The Bureau of Land Management, the Nevada Division of Forestry, and the US Forest Service have already begun implementing fuel reduction treatments in many interface areas and are encouraged to continue in these efforts. Two Washoe County communities have formed local chapters of the Nevada Fire Safe Council and are organizing community efforts to encourage local involvement and responsibility for fire safety. Recommendations for additional chapters are given for high hazard communities and moderate hazard communities in need of widespread fuel reduction with multiple landowners.

Many of the urban fire stations responsible for fire protection in Washoe County are within a one-hour response time to high-hazard wildland areas. Initial attack of wildland fires near many Washoe County communities is delegated to Volunteer Fire Departments. Training and equipment for volunteer firefighters meets the National Wildfire Coordinating Group 310-1 standards. Mandatory training and continuing refresher training are essential components of the existing Nevada Division of Forestry and Reno/Truckee Meadows volunteer programs. However, volunteer response during normal work hours may not be sufficient on a high hazard day and fires may quickly escape initial attack efforts.

Several Washoe County communities are rapidly expanding and community boundaries shown in this report will need to be updated on a regular basis. In some cases (particularly Reno Northwest, Reno Southwest, Reno Southeast, and Reno Northeast), the community boundaries encompass geographically diverse conditions, varied fuel conditions, and a wide range of urban development styles. The results reported for these communities represent a general overview of the entire urban-interface condition. More detailed analyses of smaller neighborhoods within the communities would better reflect community risk and hazard conditions at the local level. It is therefore recommended that this follow-up analysis be conducted and that this plan be reviewed and updated at least annually.

To be most effective, fire safe practices need to be implemented on a community-wide basis. There is no way to completely eliminate the threat that wildfires present to communities at the wildland interface. However, the recommendations in this report are intended to increase public awareness and encourage concerned community members to make proactive efforts to effectively reduce 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 is 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 on the wildland-urban interface.