Published July 18, 2022 at 15:39 PDT
In a community located on the foothills of Peavine Mountain in Reno, a work team animated up brushing tools. These weren’t your average Joe’s weed killers; these were high-powered scissors that sent leaves and branches flying everywhere.
The crew was with Wilderness Forestry, a Reno-based company employed by homeowners, homeowners associations, and commercial properties to reduce forest fire threats. Its task is to create what is known as a “defensible space” – a buffer between property and the flammable vessel and vegetation surrounding it.
“A lot of times when the developers are building the homes, you know, they’re building them right on top of each other. And there’s not a lot of space between them,” said Bill Steward, Wilderness Forestry’s defensible space inspector.
Steward said that is one reason for the need to mitigate the risks of wildfire breaking through neighborhoods – a threat that has increased in the drought region. Last year, a record 1.5 million acres burned in the Sierra Nevada, the mountain range stretching between California and Nevada.
The Dixie Fire was the single largest fire in California history, burning nearly 1 million acres. Smoke blew as far east as Utah and Colorado, causing unhealthy air quality in both states. The Caldor Fire burned more than 200,000 acres south of Lake Tahoe, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.
“It hit very close to home,” Steward said. “This was the first time – last year – that fire actually crested the Sierra and came down into a lake valley and basically [Tahoe] south shore.”
Summer later, Wilderness Forestry is busier than ever. According to Steward, the company is on track to double its annual revenue and number of contracts this year.
“It’s hard for us to keep up the demand,” he said. “Lots of phone calls. We’re probably six months out so far to take on any new business. ”
The company mostly works in the Reno Lake Tahoe area, but it sends crews hundreds of miles to northern California areas like Napa Valley. Jobs range from clearing one acre of bush to thinning 100 acres of trees.
On a recent day in Reno, skipper Dustin Johnson used his scissors on uncontrollable sagebrush – almost as tall as he is – in the Sierra Canyon community.
Johnson sees his crew as the first line of defense to help firefighters.
“Giving them a safe area to get in and put hoses behind houses, clearing on sides of driveways to make sure their trucks are safe,” he said. “And come in and give them a chance to fight the fire safely.”
So far, there have been no major summer flames in the Reno-Tahoe area. But two California fires sparked in early July pushed smoke into the Reno Valley: the Electra Fire in the Sierra foothills near Sacramento and the Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park.
“Luckily, we haven’t had a big fire here lately,” Steward said. “But it’s not about if, it’s when.”
Jessica Gardetto, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center, said wildfire threats in the West have increased as more people move into what is known as the wild city interface. This is where urban areas and undeveloped land collide – and it accounts for 69% of the buildings destroyed by wildfires in the United States.
Take the Marshall Fire that broke out in Boulder County, Cologne, in late December. It was the most destructive of the state – destroying more than 1,000 homes, many in the wild urban interface.
“And unfortunately, a lot of people are moving to these areas who may not be familiar with wildfire and how fast fires can move – how damaging they can be if you don’t have viable space around your home,” Gardetto said.
Gardetto said that’s why fire agencies are trying to spread the word about creating a defensible space – and taking care of it. Some districts regulate homes in fire-hazardous locations. For example, around Reno, an ordinance requires new features built after 2013 to have 30 to 100 feet of defensible space.
But Gardetto said some homeowners don’t observe defensible space codes because they think it costs too much or will make their yards look empty and ugly.
“And that’s really not the case,” she said. “It’s mainly about debugging the existing plants you have and keeping them green.”
Sometimes, she added, that can make all the difference between saving and losing a home – or even a community.
That’s why Steward said he wants Nevada to pass legislation that helps fire agencies hire more staff to inspect homes for defensible space.
In the meantime, Wilderness Forestry workers will continue to cut.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado , KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Agency is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
