Virgin Mountains fire is nearly contained

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 | 11:15 a.m.

Firefighters have dug hand lines around 90 percent of a wildfire in the Virgin Mountains about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, almost completely containing the blaze that erupted Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management said.

The flames from the Nickel Mountain fire had spread through 8,300 acres of range land, pinyon-juniper forests and abandoned corrals by Monday afternoon, Dorothy Harvey, a Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman, said.

The fire had grown to three times its size in five days.

A wind storm that struck the area Monday had tested the strength of the hand lines surrounding most of the fire. But the line held, Harvey said.

"It had been a real slow day," Harvey said. "Now with this wind, we can see more smoke."

No injuries were reported.

No other homes or structures, besides the deserted corrals, were immediately threatened by the flames, Harvey said.

Five helicopters and firefighters from federal, state and county agencies battled the blaze in the rugged, forested mountains, about 12 miles south of Mesquite, a desert resort town 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

By Monday, up to 472 firefighters were trying to encircle the fire.

"We're pretty lucky right now because it's early in the season and we're the only fire going right now," Harvey said of the extra crews arriving in Southern Nevada.

A command post for firefighters was established at Bowler Elementary School in Bunkerville, Harvey said.

Off-roaders and recreational users were shut out of a large wilderness area bounded by Mesquite and Interstate 15, the Virgin River, Lake Mead and the Arizona border because of the erratic nature of the fire.

The area includes the Virgin River Mountain Natural Area and Virgin River Recreation Lands.

Lightning was blamed for sparking the wildland fire about 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The flames raced through dry timber and brush in a wilderness study area. Most of the 6,560 acres is owned by the Bureau of Land Management.

The area contains several archaeological sites -- shelter caves, petroglyphs and camp sites left by early humans in the area. It is also a habitat for the Mojave Desert tortoise, a threatened species, and the Gila monster, Harvey said.

The fire, currently at 8,300 acres, grew only 300 acres on Monday, prompting firefighters to anticipate having the fire fully contained this evening, said Dorothy Harvey, a BLM spokeswoman.

Firefighters remained confident this morning after high winds Monday night did not shift the fire past the safety line, she said.

"We did have a pretty significant wind event last night and the lines held," Harvey said. "We're pretty confident that the lines are going to hold (today)."

The fire was 90 percent contained this morning, she said.