wildfire

A wildfire burning in Tuolumne County near Yosemite National Park is causing much of the smoke seen Thursday in Carson City and Carson Valley, according to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center. The Rim Fire burning in the Stanislaus National Forest is 2 percent contained and has burned nearly 53,000 acres since August 17. Around 2,500 structures are threatened in the Pine Mountain Lake area. The smoke from the fire has pushed north filling much of the valley areas around Carson City and into the Lake Tahoe Basin, said Sierra Front spokesman Mark Struble.

It has been 17 years since President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore stood on the shores of Lake Tahoe and issued a challenge. They urged the frequently fractious perspectives in the region to come together in support of the restoration of Lake Tahoe.

Forest thinning on public land along the west side of Fallen Leaf Lake will begin Friday, Aug. 16, the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit announced Thursday. Thinning will take place south of the dam and will move closer to the dam in a couple of weeks.

The Forest Service will issue a forest order to close a portion of the area from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily beginning Aug. 19, through Oct. 11 for public safety due to heavy equipment operations and the felling of trees.

Nevada Senators Harry Reid and Dean Heller and U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei (NV-2) met Wednesday with top officials from the U.S. Department of the Interior to discuss actions that can be taken to help prevent the Endangered Species Act listing of the sage grouse, as well as the negative impact such a listing would have on the economic growth and development of the Silver State.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The U.S. Forest Service and other land management agencies have a new fire safety campaign in California. The One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire campaign is designed to provide constant reminders during this fire season to reduce the numbers of human-caused vehicle and equipment wildfires throughout the state.

With 80 percent containment, the mop-up and line rehab process has begun on the Bison Fire burning east of Gardnerville, fire officials report Friday morning. As the containment percent rises firefighters and equipment will be released from the Bison Fire and made available for other fires.

Fire officials report progress on the Bison Fire overnight, with plans Thursday to do continued work on hot spots and to begin the rehabbing process.

Voluntary evacuations for 78 homes were lifted Wednesday at around 6:30 p.m. The fire is 65 percent contained as of Thursday morning with the size of it being reduced to 24,136 acres at this time, said Lisa Ross, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management.

Below is the Thursday morning press briefing from the BLM:

Voluntary evacuations of a Smith Valley subdivision are underway as firefighters held flames along a ridge above to stop them from spreading into homes, the Bureau of Land Management reports this morning. Firefighters overnight were able to reinforce the line, with the day shift continuing its efforts today.

Great Basin Management Type 2 Team, operating under Incident Commander Mike Whalen, reports fire fighters made progress today even though the fire increased in size to 21,337 acres, with almost all of the acreage increase on the north side of the incident. The fire is now 25-percent contained with a revised full containment target date of July 15.

Late afternoon winds hampered firefighting efforts against the Bison wildfire in Douglas County, resulting in the loss of an unknown number of commercial structures, officials reported Sunday evening.

The types of buildings involved were not known along with whether the buildings were in active use. No injuries were reported.

UPDATE 6PM: With one agency saying one thing, and another reporting something else, there's bound to be confusion and mistakes. Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center now reports the Bison Fire listed as burning 9,300 acres as stated in its 5:40 p.m. media briefing here.

The Lyon County Office of Emergency Management has been notified by the unified command of the Bison Fire burning in the Pine Nut Mountain Range in Douglas County about the behavior of the wildfire, the direction it is heading and smoke and flames visible to residents in Smith Valley and Wellington.

UPDATE 8:14PM: Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center reports the fire off of Mica Drive near Hobo Hot Springs has been extinguished. It was a 10-foot by 20-foot fire. A Carson Now reader said it was put out by a homeowner. Sierra Front reports they had help from East Fork Fire District.

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The Carson City Fire Department has been called to assist in a wildfire reported burning in Douglas County off of Mica Drive near Hobo Hot Springs. According to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch, smoke was seen at 7:25 p.m. Thursday in the area of Hobo Hot Springs.

UPDATE 8:21PM The Bison Fire has grown to 1300 acres, said Douglas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Pat Brooks. No structures have been damaged. No injuries reported. Additional resources have been ordered to assist, however due to other fires in the region and the 4th of July festivities, firefighting resources have been stretched thin.

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UPDATE 4:21PM July 4: The Tarnahan Fire burning southeast of Carson City is 10 percent contained. No structures are threatened at this time. After GPS of the area was made, the fire was downsized at noon to 25 acres, according to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center. Sierra Front had reported about 100 acres early this morning but re-adjusted the figure based on an overhead GPS reading.
Wind conditions are light.

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Tinder-dry vegetation, lingering drought conditions, increasing daytime temperatures and several human-caused fires have prompted the Bureau of Land Management Carson City District Office, the Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Nevada Division of Forestry’s to announce the implementation of fire restrictions today, Friday, June 28.

UPDATE 8:05PM: State Route 207 Kingsbury Grade is now open to motorist with controls. Please use caution around firefighters and equipment that remain working the fire.
Fire personnel will remain on scene to gain further containment of this fire. The cause of this fire is still under investigation.

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UPDATE 12:30PM: The fire burning near the long rifle range off of Flint Drive in Carson City is under control at this time, according to firefighters at the scene. The mop-up phase has begun and firefighters expect to be at the scene for at least 45 minutes to an hour, according to dispatch.

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Carson City Fire Department personnel are responding to a wildfire this afternoon near the rifle range at 400 Flint Drive. Smoke is visible and flames are reportedly being fanned by gusty winds.

This cooler, wetter weather is a bit of good news, bad news for firefighters. Of course, the moisture is great, but as we saw just this weekend, any lightning storms that pop up can easily spark fires in our area.

Firefighters say they welcome the moisture because it does reduce the risk of wildfire but admit it just buys them some time before it gets hot and dry.

A federal contract was awarded Tuesday to Douglas County-based Minden Air Corporation to supply the U.S. Forest Service with "next generation" air tankers that will replace the aging fleet.

Ed Smith of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension talks about Nevada Wildfire Awareness Week on the Carson City public access program It's Your City.

“Reduce the Fuel – Reduce the Risk!” is the theme of this year's Awareness Week, with a community public awareness event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at Mills Park in Carson City.

by LINDSAY TOSTE