Fire scenario: Carson Valley's hot spots

Ask Fire Chief Tod Carlini what Douglas County areas are main concerns during a wildfire and his yellow highlighter goes to work on a map.

Swish, swish, swish - Ruhenstroth, Fish Springs, Johnson Lane, Topaz Ranch, Topaz Lake, Genoa, Jacks Valley, Sheridan - they are all marked.

East Fork Fire and Paramedics Districts has a phenomenal-sized responsibility when it comes to wildfires in Douglas County. Under a contract with the state, the fire district is the primary responder in the county - not only for wildfires, but for emergency medical services and hazardous material response.

The agency is responding to nearly 4,000 calls a year.

But when a fire call is first made to dispatch, the number of units sent to respond are dependent on the information provided by the caller and not on a report alone that the call is a potential wildfire.

"The mobilization to a fire depends on varying degrees upon the call," Carlini said. "If it's an actual fire that someone sees, the response could be different than the response to a report of smoke."

Wildfires can start from anything: Lightning, a ditch burn that grows out of control, a spark from machinery, even a tossed, and still burning, cigarette.

The type of response to a wildfire depends on whether the wildfire is urban interface or non-urban interface.

What that means is if there are homes interspersed within the fire or nearby, structural fire engines along with wildfire fighting equipment are sent.

If, however, the wildfire is far away from structures - like homes or businesses - the wildfire is considered non-urban interface and water tenders are sent.

If the wildfire is determined to be a greater threat than a three-alarm fire - the most severe - fire units from other agencies will be asked to assist.

"When it exceeds initial attack response we call in other agencies," Carlini said.

Local assistance would come from the Tahoe-Douglas Fire Department, which handles the Lake portion of Douglas County and Sierra Front, which handles the west side of Foothill Road and the Jacks Valley area. In the event that more equipment is needed, agencies from California might aide. In fact, commonly in the case of wildfires, Nevada and California agencies assist one another.

Of primary importance to containing a wildfire is the initial response. Fires grow proportionately, Carlini said.

"The Autumn Hills Fire far exceeded (itself) within 10 minutes," he said.

Anyone suspecting a fire should dial 911 immediately. The Nevada Fire Safe Council is currently conducting a study of all 17 counties in Nevada for wildfire risk.

"The best indicators determine how well-prepared we are," Carlini said. "The study looks at fuel types, typography and past history. It will provide us an independent view of where some of our weaknesses might be."

Defensible space should be used around a home, he said. That is the area between the home and a wildfire where vegetation has been reduced or removed to decrease the threat to the home. Ways of creating defensible space include removing dead trees and ignitable shrubs from around the home, keeping woodpiles at least 30 feet away from the home and breaking up dense areas of vegetation.

"Defensible space can put us ahead or a little bit behind," Carlini said.

-- Maggie O'Neill can be reached at mo'neill@recordcourier.com or (775) 782-5121, ext. 214.