BLM urges western Nevada residents to take wildfire precautions for 2024

Carson City, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management is advising residents living within the Carson City District, which encompasses 5.3 million acres of federal public lands in 11 counties in western Nevada and eastern California., to be aware of wildfire prevention. In addition, prepare their homes and property for the advent of wildfire season.

“We are seeing above normal grass growth resulting from above-normal precipitation this last winter and spring.” said Carson City District Fire Management Officer, Jonathan Palma.”  “Because of this and recent temperatures 10-15 degrees higher than normal, the risk for wildfire is escalating quickly.”

“Wildfires in western Nevada can move very fast in dry grass and preparedness is everything,” said Palma.

The following precautions should always be taken to prevent wildfires:

• Never leave a campfire unattended. Extinguish all campfires completely and stir ashes to make sure no hot coals remain and always make sure they are dead out.
• Dispose of cigarettes in proper containers away from any flammable material.
• If off-road vehicle use is allowed, internal combustion equipment should have a spark arrester.
• Avoid driving though dry vegetation or parking your vehicle in high grass or dry vegetation.
• Never use stoves, lanterns or heaters inside a tent.
• Store flammable liquid containers in a safe place.
• Do not shoot tracer bullets or incendiary ammunition.
• Do not shoot in areas of dry fuels especially in times of extreme conditions such as Red Flag Warnings. Shoot only at cardboard or paper targets or manufactured thrown-type clay targets. 
• Remember, shots fired across open desert can travel more than a mile and can cause a wildfire.
• At the first sign of a wildfire, contact Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center at 775-883-5995 or call 911.

In collaboration with local wildfire cooperators, the Carson City BLM District will monitor fuels conditions and the potential need for fire restrictions as the season progresses.

More information can be found at: Great Basin Coordination Center’s website at https://gacc.nifc.gov/gbcc/predictive/docs/monthly.pdf. A defensible space guide is posted on the www.nevadafireinfo.org website. Learn more about what you can do to be prepared this wildfire season at https://www.livingwithfire.org and https://www.nevadafireinfo.org/be-prepared.