On Tuesday, an annual report with Governor Brian Sandoval discussed the conditions and concerns ahead of the fire season. The roundtable of experts told the governor what 2017’s fire season could look like.
Kasey KC with the Nevada Division of Forestry says history shows a higher likelihood for high risk fire conditions this year.
"These historic years of high water, rain and snow events in the state of Nevada, that's when we have our most historic and catastrophic fire seasons," says KC.
KC says typically years with more water will correlate with more acres burned across the state. Chris Smallcomb with the National Weather Service says it's because there are more natural fuels to burn.
"One thing with grass fires is they tend to be dominant by wind," says Smallcomb. "And they can get very big, very quickly."
He says the good news is because soils and fuels across the state are still moist; the highest risks for fires shouldn't come until July.
"Obviously the snow pack is going to hold things back a little bit and slow the fire season down a little bit," says Smallcomb.
Governor Sandoval says a delayed fire season would also mean more time for fire agencies to prepare and train.
"I need to know if there are any deficiencies in terms of equipment, or training," says Sandoval. "We actually have even more assets now that we ever had before.”
Governor Sandoval says the improvement doesn’t just come from the boots on the ground. He says the latest technology should help our firefighters respond to fires faster than ever.
"Camera's up in the mountains to make sure that they can detect fires immediately,” says Sandoval. "So those are all game changers for us in terms of early detection and if there is a major fire, getting it put out."
Governor Sandoval says the annual fire briefings are critical because Nevada is 86% federal land. He says it's important to have collaboration between the federal government and local and state firefighting agencies.
