Wet winter can increase wildfire dangers

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005 | 9:38 a.m.

A wet winter in the Western United States has eased drought conditions, but it's also resulting in the growth of grass and vegetation that could provide added fuel for wildfires in Nevada.

"We've seen a lot of precipitation exploding growth," said Sandy Gregory, a wildfire fuel specialist with the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada. "When we see more grass growing it allows for fires to carry through areas that a fire might otherwise not be able to get through."

Gregory said BLM officials are already finding fast-growing grasses such as cheat and red brome growing in the southern Mojave Desert and in the Washoe Valley in Northern Nevada. The grasses grow quickly in wet conditions, but dry out and die just as quickly as the weather warms in the spring and summer, creating a carpet of fuel waiting for a spark.

BLM officials have already noticed higher levels of grass growth near Pahrump and Searchlight and near Carson City, Gregory said.

Janelle Smith, a BLM spokeswoman who works at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, said the wet winter helps fight drought conditions and prevent fires, but also fuels growth of plants that serve as fire fuel.

"It's hard to predict fire season," said Smith, who said there is no discernible pattern to predicting how bad a fire season will be and what areas will be hit the hardest.

"It really hinges on what happens in the coming months with the weather," she said. "If there is fuel and you get the dry weather and hot winds, all you need is an ignition source."

Fire season in the Great Basin -- including Nevada, Utah and parts of Idaho and Wyoming -- usually peaks in July, August and September, but fires can also spark in the spring months, fire officials said.

According to the latest fire-danger report from the Western Great Basin Fire Coordination Center in Reno, there are no expectations for any large fires in Nevada through March.

The report does state that rain and snow "have resulted in a brief green-up of annual fine fuels ... in many parts of the state."

The report also states that grasses have grown up to 2 inches high, and that while this growth is not totally unusual, "this is the first time in many years that there has been a significant fall green-up."

Dick Birger, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife fire official, said that the growth of vegetation will be something that is watched closely as fire season approaches.

"The more fine fuel you have is going to add to a fire given the right conditions," Birger said. "We are concerned, but a lot can happen between now and fire season."

Officials with the Western Great Basin Fire Coordination Center estimate that about 40,000 acres burned in Nevada in 2004. Nationally about 7.8 million acres burned, although Alaska accounted for more than 6.5 million acres in a record-breaking fire season for the state.

In Nevada, the Robber's Roost Fire burned more than 1,500 acres in July along the northwest side of Mount Charleston, just 23 miles from Las Vegas. The fire, sparked by an an overturned truck, threatened 400 homes at Mount Charleston before it was brought under control.

Forty miles north of Las Vegas more than 1,000 acres within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge also burned in July.

The largest fire in Nevada last year occurred in the northern end of the state and threatened Carson City. The Waterfall Fire burned more than 8,700 acres and caused 180 people to be evacuated from their homes.