More crews to fight blaze

Tuesday, July 16, 2002 | 11:15 a.m.

Crews fighting Southern Nevada's first major wildfire of the year were expecting reinforcements today to double the number of firefighters battling the 1,600-acre blaze in the Spring Mountains.

By this afternoon about 200 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Nevada Division of Forestry, the National Park Service, the California Department of Forestry and volunteer crews from around the West were expected to be working the fireline.

An extra five fire engines were to be added to the 11 at the site, dubbed the Lost Cabin Fire, Battalion Chief Doug Lannon of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

Two airplanes and a heavy lift helicopter have been requested to fight the fire. They would add to one smaller helicopter on scene.

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Beth Short said it was unclear whether those reinforcements would be coming. One air tanker made a pass Monday afternoon to make an attack.

Even with the extra help on the way, fire officials had no estimate of when the blaze, which grew from 350 acres to 1,600 Monday afternoon as winds kicked up, would be contained.

"Where's the air support?" asked Las Vegas developer Brett Torino, who owns Torino Ranch, which is being threatened along with six mobile homes. He said he had been frustrated all day as the plume of smoke grew in the skies west of Las Vegas.

Ironically it was a guest leaving a three-day campout for terminally ill and foster children Sunday at Torino Ranch who spotted a column of smoke in Lovell Canyon and reported it.

By Monday afternoon the fire was out of control, shooting flames 150 feet into the air and devouring trees that appeared to explode.

"Trees are literally exploding," BLM spokesman Phillip Guerrero said. "This is what we feared all summer long. Now it's our turn to deal with (wildfires). Mother Nature is ruling the roost now."

With two other major fires burning in Nevada and thousands of acres aflame across the West, Southern Nevada firefighters have to wait for help. The Lost Cabin Fire was ranked 40th in priority in the nation Monday night because of a lower threat to private property or lives.

By nightfall Monday the Lost Cabin Fire had burned more than 1,600 acres of mountaintops about 35 miles west of Las Vegas after a light, late-afternoon rainfall. The smoke had combined with Arizona wildfire haze to blanket the Las Vegas Valley with a choking haze.

This morning the fire remained about 1,600 acres after the increased moisture from Monday's brief rain and lower winds kept the flames down. Firefighters kept their eyes on the weather, which National Weather Service forecasters say could get drier and windier later this week.

Fire crews waited at Torino's Ranch, which includes a lodge, cabins, two man-made lakes stocked with fish and a small railroad train, to battle any blaze that approached the 168-acre property. The fire burned away high on a ridge about two miles away.

After visiting his wilderness home, Torino said he was thankful that the ranch had been spared.

Larry Benham, who was directing operations Monday from the Bureau of Land Management, said firefighters will protect mobile homes at Cold Spring or the ranch if flames approach. People and private property protection are the two main goals of firemen, he said.

Forest workers weren't waiting for rainfall or the next blaze to help residents prevent wildland fires.

The Forest Service encouraged 16 cabin owners in Kyle Canyon to thin trees and shrubs on 50 acres of national forest lands, said Connie Moen, with the Forest Service's Coconino National Forest Division. She came to Southern Nevada for four months to help spread the word about preventing fires.

Two large wildfires -- one of 8,600 acres and a second of 10,000 acres -- burned elsewhere in Nevada.

Near Topaz, Calif., at the Nevada-California line, an 8,600-acre wildfire churned as visitors and employees in hotels, campsites and RV parks evacuated.

A 10,000-acre fire raged unchecked on the Nevada-Utah line 50 miles southeast of Ely. A handful of homes in an old mining camp designated as a state historical landmark were evacuated. No injuries or structural damage were reported.

In central Oregon, crews made progress against a 17,300-acre wildfire, one of about 20 that had burned some 120,000 acres around the state.

Residents began returning to a rural subdivision where 18 houses were destroyed. The fire was 45 percent contained and full containment was possible by the end of the week, officials said.

In southwestern Colorado, 25 homes remained evacuated as heat, low humidity and erratic wind pushed a 27,000-acre fire near the tiny communities of Norwood and Redvale.

The National Interagency Fire Center said wildfires have charred 3.3 million acres so far this year, more than double the 10-year average.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.