Moapa wildfire 25 percent contained; 9 homes destroyed

By Kyle B. Hansen

Published Friday, July 2, 2010 | 12:54 p.m.

Updated Saturday, July 3, 2010 | 5:33 p.m.

The Moapa fire was 25 percent contained Saturday evening after destroying nine homes and nine other buildings, officials said.

Fire officials said they hope to get the fire fully contained sometime next week and no other structures are in danger.

Fire engines and hand crews will continue to work on the fire Sunday, said Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Hillerie Patton.

State Route 168 remains open in the fire area, but Warm Springs Road is closed to all but residents of the area, Patton said.

Patton dramatically cut estimates of the size of the blaze to 100 acres. She blamed confusion during firefighting operations for the previous estimate of 680 acres, or about 1 square mile.

No serious injuries have been reported, although a Nevada prison inmate suffered heat exhaustion Thursday while fighting the Moapa fire.

Patton said a spark from a wood chipper ignited the fire Thursday morning off state Route 168 about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The fire is near Warm Springs Road and State Route 168 in Moapa.

The Warm Springs Recreational Facility, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is nearly burned out.

Some of the church missionaries who help run the camping area returned Friday morning to find smoldering ruins of their former living quarters.

They tried to take away what little was left, mainly some lawn mowers and other equipment.

Elder Robert Taylor, one of six missionaries who lived at the camp, said he saw the flames approaching while mowing the lawn.

"It was growing fast and the wind really hadn't started to pick up yet," he said.

He and his wife took what they could before evacuating to a nearby hill, where they watched the area burn.

"We're so sad," he said. "It was beautiful here. We loved it."

Taylor said he and his wife will return to their home in Utah but already have volunteered to return to the camp when it reopens. That likely won't be for several months.

The only building in the recreation area that wasn't burned was a brick restroom next to a parking lot.

Residents said smoke from the fire was visible at the Muddy River Bar and Grill about five miles away. The restaurant’s manager, Ben Paschal, and bartender Alisa Gentry went to the Warm Springs area to see what was happening.

Paschal said the flames were engulfing palm trees and were close to a mobile home park.

"It was pretty much out of control," he said. "(Firefighters) jumped on it pretty quick. I was surprised to see helicopters and planes up there so fast."

Gentry said the fire was the major topic of conversation in the area.

"When there is a fatal accident on I-15 you barely hear about it but everyone was talking about the fire," she said. "Since everybody’s so close-knit in town it affects someone you know or are related to."

Palm trees were reduced to charred black spikes following a spectacular and intense display of flames and smoke. A ranch home, reddened from a dousing of fire retardant, sat unharmed amid a blackened patch of land.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.