How to stay safe when wildfires strike, and they are unavoidable in our climate, is something every Reno / Tahoe resident should know. Our climate, vegetation, and geography combine to make fires a natural part of the landscape in northern Nevada and throughout the west. The environment adapted to periodic burns long before we began to move in and does not respect much of our attempts to alter the natural order to suit our purposes. Learning more about living with wildfires will help protect your property and can save your life.
Be Prepared for the Reno / Tahoe Wildfires
Wildfires will happen, guaranteed. Everyone who lives near or within a fire-prone area owes it to themselves, their neighbors, and the firefighters who come to their aid, to promote wildfire safety. Learn what to do, then do it. Prepare your home and property for wildfires. It’s too late once the flames are getting to you. In addition to the links below, see “Fire Departments in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County” for information on how to contact these agencies for fire prevention assistance.
- Living With Fire Tip # 1: Fire Fighting Tools You Already Own
- Learn about defensible space to protect your property
- Nevada Division of Forestry Wildland Fire Protection Program
Learn more about wildfire monitoring, prevention and safety
- Nevada Wildfire Awareness Month: Held each year in May to raise awareness and encourage action to reduce the threat of wildfires in Nevada homes and communities. Workshops, events and programs are scheduled throughout the State of Plata.
- BLM Learning Landscapes: Burning Issues – Interactive multimedia information for teachers and students, from the Bureau of Land Management and Florida State University.
- National Weather Service Fire Weather News
- National Interagency Fire Department
Wildfires can happen to anyone, at any time
Examples of recent wildfires that caused extensive damage provide graphic evidence of the need for wildfire safety around Reno / Tahoe.
In January 2012, the Washoe Drive fire spread through Washoe Valley and Pleasant Valley, just south of Reno. The fire was contained on 3,177 acres, but not before destroying 29 homes, causing numerous evacuations and closing 395 for a time.
Just after midnight on November 18, 2011, a wildfire started with an electrical arc that took off in the southwestern part of Reno. Strong winds quickly spread what was called the Caughlin Fire and thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes before the sun rose. Some 30 houses were completely destroyed and several others were damaged.
The Hawken Fire in West Reno, started by careless human activity on July 16, 2007, was close. Numerous homes in the Caughlin Ranch subdivision were threatened as flames burned up to fences in places. Firefighters were able to defend the property, but 2,700 acres of forest went up in smoke.
On June 24, 2007, an illegal campfire escaped and the Angora fire started south of Lake Tahoe. By the time the fire was contained days later, more than 200 houses had burned, along with more than 3,000 acres of forest.
In July 2004, the waterfall fire broke out near Carson City. Thirty-one houses and many other structures were destroyed. Nearly 9,000 acres were burned. The origin of this fire can be traced back to careless and illegal human activity.
Elsewhere in Nevada, man-made and natural wildfires regularly destroy thousands of acres of forest, desert brush, wildlife habitat, and human-built structures.
