MOUNT CHARLESTON (KTNV) — The fires in Los Angeles have many of us in Las Vegas wondering if a similar situation could happen here, so Channel 13 checked in with the Mt. Charleston Fire Protection District to learn more about the wildfire risk in the valley and up in the Spring Mountains.
Earlier this week, Channel 13's Climate Reporter Geneva Zoltek explored the concept of Wildland Urban Interfaces surrounding the Las Vegas metro area and their elevated risk for wildfire.
▶ Watch Areas similar to Clark County neighborhoods are more prone to wildfires, says UNLV research. Here's why.
Mt. Charleston Fire Chief Jason Douglas says the risk in the valley is very low, mostly because we have a different kind of fuel type than in Los Angeles — fuel meaning the kinds of brush, grasses, trees and foliage in an environment and how it reacts to fire — and it's more spread out.
"Our fuel type is a 'desert arid' fuel type," Douglas said. "Typically what we have is cactus, yucca, creosote bush, sagebrush, things like that. It's also a very dry valley, the biggest risk we have would be wind, but our continuous fuels aren't there like they are in California."
The main difference in Los Angeles?
"When we look at the LA area, we see a lot of that chaparral brush — those coastal brushes that when you get a lot of water, you get more growth. They burn differently, much hotter," Douglas said.
It's a different story up in our mountains, though. It's still dry like the valley, but it's a different fuel type, which increases the wildfire risk substantially.
"We have conifers — primarily ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, pinion, juniper — all these trees can burn very easily," Douglas said. "We still have to play the wind factor, but when we look at Mt. Charleston in general, the potential is always there. We're in a forested area with very steep mountains."
Douglas said his department's main message to people who live on Mt. Charleston is to make sure you have defensible space around their property to minimize their personal fire risk.
That means clearing away all combustible debris — like pine needles, firewood or empty package boxes — away from the first five feet from their homes, and trimming tree limbs on your property about 10-12 feet off the ground to prevent fire from climbing into the tree canopy, which can be a major contributor to fire spread.
"The fire activity actually calms down when we do all of these treatments," Douglas said. "What that does is make it so we can get in there, as firefighters, and have a chance to defend your house. If we have brush all the way up to your house, and we have flame lengths higher than our heads, we can't do much in that situation. It gives us a place to defend your house if we have a fire coming through."
Even though the fire risk is lower in the valley, Douglas said all of that still applies, because easily burned materials next to your house make it easier for your home to catch on fire were a fire to spark.
Plus, Douglas says you can never be too prepared, regardless of the emergency: have a plan, and put together a "go bag" of essential items so you can be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.
For more information about how to prepare for an emergency, visit Clark County's website by clicking here.
For more information about fire preparedness and prevention tips in Nevada, visit "Nevada Fire Info" by clicking here.
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