Wildfires char thousands of acres in Southern Nevada

Sandra Chereb

Tuesday, June 1, 1999 | 7:27 a.m.

About 450 firefighters fought a wildland blaze in Southern Nevada that has charred 10,000 acres and endangered a desert tortoise habitat and wilderness study area.

Only 20 percent of the Blue Garden Fire was contained or surrounded early today, said National Park Service spokeswoman Heidi Netzler. Lightning sparked the fire on Friday.

There were no serious injuries and no private property was threatened, officials said.

Winds pushed flames northeast into rugged terrain 85 miles northeast of Las Vegas in remote Lincoln County. The fire spread quickly through vegetation already made brittle by lackluster winter moisture and rising temperatures.

Flames burned in black brush and desert scrub along its southern border and threatened desert tortoise habitat and juniper and pinion pines in the Clover Mountain Wilderness Study area.

Fire spokesman Bill Roach said the wildfire season in the region typically begins around July 4.

"We're running about a month early," Roach said when contacted on a cellular phone at the scene about 450 miles southeast of here.

Temperatures on Monday again climbed into the 80s and firefighters had to battle not only flames, but high-speed winds.

Meanwhile, firefighters made progress on a second fire in Lincoln County that was also touched off by lightning Friday.

The Rainbow Ranch fire flashed through about 1,900 acres of cheat grass and brush southwest of Elgin.

Five hand crews, two helicopters and three pumper engines worked that blaze. The fire was almost contained Monday night, according to Curtis Tucker of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.