Bureau of Land Management

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - The Numbers Fire is now at 18,340 acres and 98 percent contained.

The fire started on July 6 at approximately 6:50 p.m. near the Pine View Estates area south of Gardnerville. Investigators found several fires along Highway 395 that they believe are related to the Numbers Fire.

Investigators with the East Fork Fire Protection District, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Land Management, and the US Forest Service worked together over the past week to determine the origin and cause of these fires.

Update 6/25 at 9:00 a.m.: The Monarch Fire burning in Douglas County is now 1,794 acres. The fire is burning three miles south of Sierra Spirit Ranch in the Fish Springs/ Pinenut Creek Road area.

3:51 p.m. 6/24 update: From Douglas County: Several agencies including Bureau of Land Management, Douglas County Sheriff's Office, East Fork Fire, the US Forest Service and the Nevada Division of Forestry are currently responding to the Monarch Fire, a Brush fire in the Fish Springs Pinenut Creek Rd area. No structures are threatened at this time. No active road closures at this time.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) Board has authorized spending $1,036,750 to implement three high-priority projects to reduce fire risk and improve forest health in South Lake Tahoe and on the west shore.

During their meeting on Thursday, the CTC Board approved funding for projects that include:

- Spending up to $211,250 on forest thinning on Conservancy land in the South Lake Tahoe Ski Run and Bijou neighborhoods,

- A grant to the South Tahoe Public Utility District for up to $338,000 for forest thinning on the grounds of its treatment plant, and

STATELINE, Nev. - Nine projects were honored as "Best in the Basin" Wednesday during the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) board meeting.

For 28 years TRPA's program has showcased projects around the lake that demonstrate exceptional planning, implementation, and compatibility with Tahoe’s natural environment and communities.

The Best in Basin award winners:

U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) will host the 22nd Annual Lake Tahoe Summit at Sand Harbor State Park in Incline Village, Nevada on Tuesday, August 7th, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. Beach and park operations will be closed until 1:00 p.m. that day.

Lawmakers from Nevada and California will meet on the shores of Lake Tahoe to discuss how to protect a national treasure as it faces continued threats to water clarity, invasive species, wildfire and drought.

9:14 p.m. update: The James Loop Fire was reported at 12:45 p.m. at the James Canyon Development near Carson City, Nevada. Tonight, the fire was mapped at 260 acres and is currently 30 percent contained. The fire was caused by heavy equipment working on a new home under construction The fire burned 163 acres of private and 107 acres of Bureau of Indian Affairs lands, but threatened lands
managed by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The East Fork Fire Protection District was in unified command with the U.S. Forest Service.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Two examples of the newest tools in the fire fighting toolbox stopped by Lake Tahoe Airport on Tuesday to show how they can help in the Sierra, just as they do across the country.

Dauntless Air out of Appleton, Minnesota brought two Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss planes to town at the request of the United States Forest Service (USFS) and put on a demonstration for South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, CalFire and the USFS from both Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe National Forest.

12:00PM Update: The East Fork Fire Protection District is on scene of what has been designated as the Holiday Fire, located in and near the Preacher Mine area of the Pine Nut Range southeast of Gardnerville, Nevada.

It took less than two weeks for the U.S. Forest Service to sell out of Christmas tree cutting permits. Since November 13, the first day of sales, 2,250 permits were sold from the USFS offices in South Lake Tahoe, Incline Village and Tahoe City. No additional permits will be authorize for this season.

Permits may still be available in locations outside of the Tahoe Basin. Call ahead to see if they still have the $10 permits on hand:

Bureau of Land Management
Carson City Office
5665 Morgan Mill Road,
Carson City, NV 89701
775-885-6000

UPDATE 8/31 10:00AM - The Slinkard Fire has grown to 5,000 acres with 0 percent containment this morning. The fire has burned to Hwy 395 and crossed Hwy 89 to the north.

Last night, fire crews focused on the eastern flank of the fire along Hwy 395 and engine crews were dedicated to structure protection in northern Topaz. There are no injuries and no structures lost at this time. Power is out in the immediate area.

Crews with Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Department of Forestry and Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District have responded to a new fire burning near Spanish Springs and the Pyramid Highway. Dubbed the Winnemucca Ranch Fire, flames have consumed 1,500 acres since starting at 6:25 p.m. Tuesday.

Both ground and air resources are on scene.

At least 11 homes are threatened, according to Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District.

Ironwood Road is being evacuated, according to the Washoe County Sheriff.

With a record mountain snowpack changing to a robust, above normal, significant fire potential, wildland firefighting agencies are gearing up for another fire season and the University of Nevada, Reno is ramping up its AlertTahoe HD/4K fire camera system, which overlooks and helps protect dozens of western mountain ranges and hundreds of square miles of Nevada’s Great Basin.

5:15 p.m. update: Weather is helping fire fighters on the fire burning south of Gardnerville.

Recommended evacuations have been lifted and residents can return to their homes in the Ruhenstroth area. The area on the west side of Highway 395, including Stone’s Throw, Frontage Road and the Riverview Mobile Home Park remain closed to the residents.

Highway 395 north and southbound will be opening soon, single lane only with a pilot vehicle.

“The conditions are improving due the light rain, decrease in the winds and cooler temperatures,” said Deputy Chief Dave Fogerson.

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Honor guard processions were held Wednesday for two U.S. Bureau of Land Management firefighters who died Sunday in a rollover crash. A procession was held for Will Hawkins, 22 of Reno and Jacob M. O’Malley, 27, of Zephyr Cove which began in Reno and went to Walton's Chapel of the Valley in Carson City.

The firefighters were returning to Winnemucca after looking for lightning-sparked wildfires in Northern Nevada. The vehicle crash happened near the junction of State Highway 140 and U.S. 95. A procession was held Monday for the fallen firefighters, escorted from Winnemucca to Reno.

A single-vehicle crash has claimed the lives of two Bureau of Land Management (BLM) firefighters, one who is from Zephyr Cove. One other BLM firefighter was injured.

On Sunday evening, the firefighters were returning to Winnemucca after looking for lightning-sparked wildfires in Northern Nevada. NHP said tire failure may have caused the crash near the junction of State Highway 140 and U.S. 95 at about 5:00 p.m.

The latest round of funding through the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) includes more than $3 million for projects to help reduce wildfire risk in Lake Tahoe communities.

The funding award for Lake Tahoe is part of nearly $40 million going to projects around Nevada to reduce wildfire risk, conserve landscapes, restore wildlife habitat, and improve public recreation. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the funding awards this January.

A large illicit marijuana grow in the mountains of Lincoln County, NV was eradicated after law enforcement found 6,476 marijuana plants in the remote area. The plants had an estimated street value of $17 million.

It appears that individuals had operated the site for several years and was capable of producing large quantities of illegal marijuana intended for sales and distribution. In addition to the marijuana plants, law enforcement personnel recovered and removed nearly two miles of black irrigation piping, along with various chemicals, used during the growing process

Burning Man is always changing, and this year is no exception.

Some of this year's changes are pretty major, however, and have both attracted applause and criticism from invested Burners and other groups who are tied in some way to Burning Man.

Since last year's Burn, here are some of the changes in how the event operates:

1. No for-fun drones

9:00 p.m. update:

This just in from the Douglas County Sheriff's Department: On June 27, 2015, at approximately 6:17 p.m., the East Fork Fire District in Douglas County responded to a report of several wildland fires along the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

There have been reports of six fires along the west side of the Carson Valley.

East Fork Fire, along with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have responded to the multiple fires and are working to access each of the fires.

Those of us living in the Sierra Nevada are well aware of the drought and of the growing threat of wildfires caused by dry conditions. Due to the threat of catastrophic wildfires in the West, three major players at the government level have called for reforms in the way the federal government funds wildfire suppression efforts.

The ongoing drought, warmer-than-usual weather conditions and the fuel for fire those conditions produce could lead to a “perfect storm” this summer where multiple states in the West could be having large, simultaneous fires, state and federal fire officials told Gov. Brian Sandoval Monday.

“The system is going to be heavily taxed this year,” said Kit Bailey of the U.S. Forest Service. “We have preparedness levels of one through five and I’m a little concerned that we may get to an unprecedented level, a level six, and that is kind of a worst-case scenario.

After five years overseeing nearly 40 percent of Utah's land, Juan Palma retires Friday as the state director for the Bureau of Land Management.

While many state and local leaders would rather evict the federal agency from Utah, they don't feel the same way about Palma.

An easygoing leader who was able to navigate the fraught politics of public lands management in Utah, Palma is respected by environmentalists and oil and gas developers alike.

Today Kristen Spees announced the details of her congressional campaign’s Off-Road Ride Across Nevada.

Spees' ride is entirely off-road to promote public access to BLM land. The ride starting September 5th will navigate across Northern Nevada beginning in Dayton, to Sand Mountain, Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park and up to Austin, Nevada. Riders on Off-Highway Vehicles are expected to cover more than 350 miles over 3 days to promote public access to BLM land throughout Nevada.

To promote access and raise awareness on this issue Kristen stated:

The Christmas tree permits sold by the U.S. Forest Service in Lake Tahoe are officially sold out as of today! Between the north and the south shores of the lake there were 2,500 permits to sell to those people wanted to cut down their tree on Forest Service land.