Residents of Northern Nevada urged to prepare for 2024 wildfire season

Winnemucca, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management is advising residents living within the Winnemucca District, which encompasses Humboldt, Pershing, northern Washoe, and portions of Churchill and Lyon counties, to prepare their homes and property for the advent of wildfire season.

“We are seeing well above normal grass growth resulting from above-normal precipitation since October 1, 2023” said Winnemucca District Fire Management Officer, Donovan Walker.

“Historically, abundant moisture during the winter and spring months leads to abundant grass growth which often coincides with above-normal wildfire threat. As May is Wildfire Awareness Month, we encourage all residents to start work now to create defensible space around their homes and improvements,” said Walker.

The Great Basin Coordination Center’s Predictive Services is forecasting above-normal fire potential across large portions of northern-Nevada, particularly during the months of July and August. Major travel corridors within the Winnemucca District such as I-80, US-95, SR-290, SR-140 and SR-294 (Grass Valley Rd.) lie within these areas. The full forecast can be found at: https://gacc.nifc.gov/gbcc/predictive/docs/monthly.pdf.

“Wildfires in northern Nevada can move very fast and preparedness is everything. The Cherry Gulch fire in 2022 burned 16,000 acres in less than 24 hours.  The amount of grass we are seeing this year is already much more abundant than the last 3 years,” said Walker.

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.